Hometown: Midland
Present City: Plano
Education: B.A., Music, SMU
Profession: Manager of community outreach/executive director, The Ryan Foundation
Tell us about your family.
I’m married to Thomas, and we have two energetic, assertive, smart kids. Hamilton is 7 and Eleanor is 3. We also have a cat (Eponine) and a dog (Glinda).
How about your work or volunteer life?
I’ve been at Ryan for 10 years, connecting corporate resources to needs in the communities where we have offices. Prior to Ryan, I spent 13 years fundraising in the nonprofit sector, primarily for the performing arts.
Any favorite hobbies?
I enjoy music, gardening and travel.
What are your favorite places to travel?
The Moon Crush Music Festival in Florida, Europe and any wine-producing area.
What brought you to Wilshire and when?
Wilshire Winds drew me to Wilshire in 2003. I had put down my horn for a couple years after college. I joined to play in the Winds because it was church and they wouldn’t kick me out, even if my playing wasn’t perfect. When I was going through a divorce, I felt grateful to be needed at rehearsal, even in my depleted state.
Where are you engaged at Wilshire?
Wilshire Winds, Women of Wilshire, Kindergarten Choir and Odyssey Sunday School Class.
What has surprised you most about Wilshire?
Wilshire has had a unique way to be the hands and feet of Jesus to me at many stages in my life. Wilshire was there when one of my best friends died and I was trying to find a place for her service — a church that would welcome celebrating her life as a gay woman. Wilshire even played a role in my first date with my husband, Thomas, as our first date was scheduled on the evening of the 60th anniversary celebration, which ran long. I jokingly told him he couldn’t be mad at me if the other man in my life was God. My husband and I have experienced times of sorrow and times of jubilation dealing with infertility and pregnancy and miscarriage and child rearing where Wilshire has been a rock I have returned to again and again.
What do you think God is up to in your life right now?
I think God is teaching me patience, grace and perseverance.
What’s something interesting most people would not know about you?
I was a pageant baby and twirled a baton as a little girl.
What are your strengths, or what adjectives best describe you?
I’m an Enneagram 2; my CliftonStrengths are Input, Adaptability, Relator, Learner and Woo.