I am a lifelong word lover! For the past fifteen years, I have signed every email with this message, “words matter,” because they do. The words we read, the words we write, the words we speak, and those words that are unspoken – they all have weight and meaning. My passion is literacy, and I believe in promoting social justice through sharing books and ideas. My doctoral work was focused on looking at poetry and language as a way to better understand mathematics. I have an enormous collection of books – more than 4,000 copies line the shelves in every room of my house.

I have facilitated numerous book clubs and writing groups;  when my youngest daughter was in elementary and middle school I hosted a Mother-Daughter Book Group out of our local bookstore. I love talking about books almost as much as I love reading them. Probably my favorite thing in the whole world is sitting in the backyard for uninterrupted hours, lost inside a good book while the birds sing in the treetops.

I had a long and happy career in education working with teachers in support of literacy.  I continue to teach poetry workshops and am an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s College. In addition, I had the honor of serving three terms as the City of San Ramon’s Poet Laureate. My greatest joy in life has been raising four daughters who are now grown. My husband Bob and I also have four grandchildren with whom we share a love of books and stories.