Living with Passion

In Search of New Experiences.

I always want to face new challenges and make a bit of difference in someone’s life. Kinesthetically inclined, I’m naturally drawn to anything involving movement. In my early 20’s a coworker asked if I wanted to train for a bike ride to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation. Sounded fun, so I bought a bike and met riders from Hub Cyclery every weekend to train for a one week ride from the Oregon Border to Mexican Border. It was a DIY fundraiser, and I was in charge of outlining the course and booking the campsites. We had 5 riders and 2 support drivers. What an adventure.

I then ventured into water sports where I discovered my love for the ocean and surfing while on vacation in Mexico. This new experience sparked a chain of events that changed my life. I decided to move to the Outer Sunset in San Francisco and learned how to surf at Ocean Beach. This led to buying an old VW van and cruising up and down the coast in search of the next fun surf spot. I also created the first-ever women’s surf competition at Ocean Beach in 2001, Women on Board, building a community of women surfers with 200 plus members that later joined forces with NorCal Surfers.

During this time, I worked with technology companies testing and designing software programs to enhance the user experience. My company in San Francisco introduced me to my first volunteer experience: reading to kindergarten and 1st graders before school in Hunter’s Point. Later that year, the school counselor asked if I would come in once a week to help with a mentor program. Looking back, it planted a seed for more educational adventures to come.

Today, I find my passion enjoying life with my husband, three children and two dogs making memories with our own adventures. When I get a moment for myself, I take our lab for a swim in the bay. During the pandemic we were a regular occurrence at 6 am at Aquatic Park.