Work Experience
Phone: +1 520-690-1888
Email: info@westernskycommunications.com
Address: Post Office Box 43161, Tucson, Arizona 85733 USA
Freelance Writer, Photographer, and Consultant
January 2014-Present
Working directly with with clients in business, education, and publishing, and as a subcontractor for advertising agencies, marketing consultancies, and design firms. In addition to hosting my own solo photography exhibitions, my work has been included in group shows at Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop and the Tohono Chul botanical garden.
Freelance Web Designer
November 1995-December 2013
Website designer for businesses and STEM initiatives in educational institutions.
Sales and Service
Catalina Bicycle Shop, Tucson
May 1997-December 2000
Sold bicycles and accessories and did bike maintenance and repairs. I am still one of the few women ever to have been a bicycle mechanic in Tucson.
Associate Editor
University of Arizona Foundation, Tucson
October 1987-September 1994
Wrote copy for fund-raising magazines, annual reports, and other printed materials produced by foundation’s office of communications. Also wrote and distributed press releases and news tips.
Associate Editor
University of Pittsburgh
January 1986-March 1987
Annotated academic textbooks, treatises, and other publications included in the Economic Books: Current Selections journal.
Assistant Editor
North American Students of Cooperation, Ann Arbor, Michigan
1979-1980
Researched and wrote articles and helped editor produce the organization’s magazine. Also served as NASCO’s photographer at its annual conference, which included covering a press conference with Ralph Nader.
Educational Experiences
I was born and raised in Pennsylvania and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan. A year after graduation, I set the goal of bicycling in all 50 states. The result was a 12-year, 15,000-mile quest that also covered four Canadian provinces and a bit of Mexico.
Along the way, I met such on-the-road challenges as traversing the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains and the Southwestern deserts. I also experienced many off-the-bike adventures. They include a visit to former President Jimmy Carter’s residence, a brief stint as a Kansas wheat farmer, and a night in an Arkansas jail; I was looking for a place to stay in a small town, and the police chief offered floor space in the visitors’ room.
Lessons learned: First, be careful of what you say in casual conversation. I had no idea that stopping to chat with another long-distance rider in July 1980 would inspire me to pedal every state in the Union. But it did.
Second, ignorance can be a useful tool. When I first started traveling by bike, I had no idea that it would be considered so dangerous, especially for a “lone woman.” Had I listened to the skeptics, I probably would have stayed home and missed one of the greatest adventures of my life.
Third, if I can ride the whole United States on a bicycle, so can you. I speak from personal experience when I say that you don’t have to be a gifted athlete to accomplish such a feat.