BIO BRIEF
I am a thankful mom of three treasured grown sons and three beautiful daughters-in-law. I also love being "Birdie" to three grand girls and one grand boy, along with some lovely grand pups. In my free time, I flit across the country between California, Illinois, and Florida to be with them.
I love walking and talking, reading and writing, worshipping and praying ... and the more these activities occur near large bodies of water (e.g. my brother's house at Lake of the Ozarks, my adopted grandmother's condo on the Chesapeake Bay, Lake Michigan or anywhere on the Gulf), all the better. ?
From the moment I stepped foot on the Greenville campus in the spring of 1982 as sophomore in high school, I knew I was home. My years here as a student (1984–88) and as a staff member in College Relations & Marketing (1997–2009) continued to grow a love for Greenville, for college students, for Christian higher education, and for the ongoing formation of our graduates.
For the last 15 years, God has led me on a long and winding experiential journey through four states—Michigan (Spring Arbor University), Virginia (Operation Blessing Disaster Relief), Texas (Northwest Bible Church) and Kentucky (Asbury Seminary & Asbury University)—resulting in doctoral work on hope; reinterpreting brokenness; and hope-brained, trauma-informed spiritual formation.
Although I am grateful for my years in each of these “pleasant inns” (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain), it is good to be home in the Ville where I hope to contribute to the ongoing formational work that is Christian higher education … watering the “ivy” of spiritual, emotional and physical flourishing in lives of our students, faculty, staff and alumni all around the world.
In this work of training up mature Christian leaders, my career investments have focused on writing, training and consulting, with particular interests in encouraging Gen Z (teaching/learning), equipping Gen Y (healing and training) and enlivening Gen X (mentoring). My professional priorities include emotionally reparative spiritual formation and mental health advocacy via teaching, writing and event production.
EDUCATION
DMin in Organizational Leadership | Asbury Theological Seminary (2023)
"The Hope-Brained Way: Reinterpreting Brokenness Through Reparative Restory via Trauma-Informed Spiritual Formation"
MA in Christian Ministry | Liberty University (2023)
MA in Communication: Digital Engagement | Regent University (2004)
BA in Education | Greenville University (1988)
Ministry Focus: Mature Christian Leadership | Restorying Destoried Stories through Hope, Emotional Repair and Soul Care Missions (Mending Emotional Brokenness and Facilitating Wholeness with the Whole Bible)
PUBLICATIONS
"The Hope-Brained Way: Reinterpreting Brokenness Through Reparative Restory via Trauma-Informed Spiritual Formation" (Dissertation, 2023)
Writer, Light + Life Magazine
