She is a 2011 graduate from Oregon Health Sciences University with a Masters in Nursing and a Bachelors Degree of Nursing in 1993. Many of the past 20 years in nursing have been caring for patients primarily in cardiology within the Portland area. She enjoys getting to know her patients and working with them and their family to help them achieve and maintain their health. She is a native Oregonian, with three grown children. At home, she enjoys experimenting with creative healthy cooking, accommodating to a picky teenage son’s palate. Other favorite pastimes include gardening, bird watching (especially the locally diverse species), kayaking without falling out of the boat, and walking with her geriatric Rhodesian Ridgeback.