For those of you who do not know me, I grew up in a small town, Coal City, IL,  the youngest of five girls. We had a huge garden and canned or froze our produce, and swam, skied, fished and hiked in the Area No. 1 Outdoor Club which Peabody Coal Company sold to the families of the miners...my grandpa was one. I attended Assumption Catholic Grade School and St. Francis Academy in Joliet, where I cleaned a classroom after school to earn credit against the tuition. 

I was lucky enough to experience a canoe trip to Quetico Provincial Park in Canada with the local Boy Scout Explorer's Club, which inspired me to study environmental biology at St. Mary's College, now St. Mary's University, in Winona MN. As part of my work study job, I learned about the Sea Education Association (SEA) which offered a semester at sea. That, also, changed my life, exposing me to the joy and wonder of being at sea on a wonderful research sailing vessel, the RV Westward. See attached picture. 

After graduation, I worked as a Foreign Fisheries Observer aboard Japanese and Soviet freezer trawlers in the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and off the west coast. See attached picture, Life Magazine, August1983. 

The Soviet experience led to law school due to seeing how people were treated by their government. Being concerned about individual rights, I sought and gained a 33 year career as a prosecutor,  which is, in my opinion, the best job in law. As a prosecutor I had the discretion to always do the right thing, advocating for the rights of the victims while honoring the rights of the accused. I learned that no matter what I did, someone would be upset, so I based many tough decisions on all the available evidence and my best judgment. 

I spent 20 some years in the La Crosse County District Attorney’s Office, then transferred to the Eau Claire County District Attorney’s Office in 2009. While I have litigated almost every kind of case, I concentrated on sensitive and violent crimes, eventually specializing in domestic violence and violence against women.

After retiring in July 2020, I still remained involved, and upon learning of injustice, did what I could to fix it.

In February 2022, after District Attorney Peter Rindal was appointed, he asked me to return to finish a Violence Against Women Act grant. So I worked  as a Violence Against Women Resource Prosecutor for six more months, ending in September 2022.

Now I am an avid gardener. I love to spend time on or in the water. My most recent ocean fix was a SEA Alumni Sail aboard the Corwith Cramer around the U.S. Virgin Islands. See attached picture. 

During my time at sea. I was distressed at the plastic, Styrofoam and tar balls which we saw far out at sea! Consequently, I am interested in recycling, avoiding the use of plastic, conservation and composting.

I want to work to make Eau Claire County the best it can be, including supporting small, local business and our labor resources.