Thoughts on Thanksgiving

I want to acknowledge that my husband and I are living on the traditional territory of the indigenous Wampanaog, Nauset, and Massachusett. As a recent arrival to Cape Cod, the site of the first contact between “Pilgrims and Indians,” I am thinking about what it means to acknowledge the history and legacy of colonialism.

I enjoy many privileges today because of colonialism. What can we do beyond acknowledging the territory where we live? How can we develop relationships with peoples whose territory we are living on in the contemporary geopolitical landscape? Do we have a realistic understanding of the on-going violence and the trauma that is part of the structure of colonialism?

Meditation Teacher

In 2019, I studied with Namah Shivaya International School of Yoga and Meditation to complete certification as a Meditation Teacher. The course taught me new skills and I was able to integrate years of meditation practice and mindfulness training with intentional meditation curriculum development.

Therapy Dog

Molly and I completed her certification as a therapy dog. Her sweet personality and eagerness to socialize makes her an ideal visitor in rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, and schools.

"It often happens that a man develops a deeper love and friendship with his pet cat or dog than he does with most of the other humans in his life."
-Henry David Thoreau

Wildlife Habitat Rehabilitation

While continuing to nourish our home in Los Angeles as a Certified Urban Wildlife Habitat, I persist in raising awareness about the need to plant milkweed across North America in our efforts to sustain the declining monarch butterfly population.

"Saving the monarch is actually a challenge that we can solve," says Collin O'Mara, president of the National Wildlife Federation. "All it takes," he says, "is planting milkweed."

Education Advocate

This year, I am expanding my advocacy for excellent education for all children. By using my talents in writing, marketing, and communications, I am sharing the stories of top educational leaders, in order to provide a beacon of success for all educators to model.

I continue to coach parents to crystallize their thinking about what they want in education for their children.

"Were all instructors to realize that the quality of mental process, not the production of correct answers, is the measure of educative growth something hardly less than a revolution in teaching would be worked."
-John Dewey, Democracy and Education

Walking Cape Cod

Arguably some of Thoreau's most beautiful writings on American history and natural scenery, his 19th-century collection of poetical ruminations written while walking the length of Cape Cod inspires me to re-create some of those walks in 2016.

"Exploring the variety of natural life and human interests that have intersected on the Cape, Thoreau brings the richness of its history and natural beauty to life with his poetic, and occasionally outlandish, musings."