I am a product of the sixties: Viet Nam, the Cold War. Hippies. As such, I was anti-establishment, living for the day, and in voluntary poverty. I did the cycle of summers beachside and winters as a Vermont and Utah ski bum, until my knees gave out.

Seeking a “real” job after that, I had several careers, first as a lab technician making high-end thin film optical coatings. When I found out these coatings were used in the production of laser-guided bombs for Viet Nam, I left. I found another thin film place that made filters for research and analysis purposes – like detecting the percent of fat in hamburger or what substances are on Mars.

Shortly after this job, I started working for a woman who made soap. I fiddled around with her bookkeeping, the beginning of what I do today. I worked free-lance for a while – and one of my clients was Ken Burns, an old acquaintance. That was in the days of the green ledger pads.

Through a stroke of luck, I landed a position as Director of Financial Aid at a local graduate school. It was then I saw my first Mac. I immediately went out and bought one. I made programs to streamline the financial aid process, developed an accounting system and continued to free-lance with that.

As a hobby, I took an H & R Block class and, in my spare time, worked for them, doing 75 to 80 returns a year. Other hobbies along the way were weaving, knitting, are still reading, walking, cooking, eating, watching movies.

Through another stroke of luck, eleven years ago I got a call from the person who held my current position. She wondered if I would like to interview for the job. I did, and here I am, Chief Financial Officer, working with wonderful people in a beautiful office for a famous person.