Biography
I grew up in rural southern Indiana and have lived in Indianapolis since 2008. I'm a clinical pastoral educator at St. Vincent Hospital and board certified chaplain who is ordained by the United Methodist Church (UMC). I received my CPE training at IU Health (Methodist, University, and Riley).
My undergraduate degrees are from Indiana University (IU), Bloomington, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Speech & Hearing Sciences. I earned a Master of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School. My first ministry position was at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, where I discerned a call to ordained ministry while serving as a youth director. While I am connected to St. Luke's UMC in Indianapolis, my ministry is mainly in the hospital and as an educator.
I'm passionate about adult education for lots of reasons. When I was about four years old, I watched my mom attend night school at Ivy Tech, so that she could support our family on her own. She earned an associate degree and has worked in health information since then. When I started college, she returned to school to fulfill her dream of earning her bachelor's degree. While working full-time, she earned her degree from Indiana University Southeast and graduated the same year that I graduated from IU Bloomington. I'm proud to tell my two daughters, age 8 and almost 5, that there are many ways to answer their call in life and many ways to pursue their educational goals.
In my free time I like to knit, read, and watch movies.
