Picture an alpine trail with a family of five sporting multicolored, homemade backpacks fashioned by their father’s woodworking wizardry and their mother’s sewing skills. Picture scrap lumber nailed into a large rectangle, two thick sheets of plastic and a garden hose. Voila! My parents built a pool and a slip-n-slide that became the hot day hang-out in our neighborhood. This was the nourishing broth in which I was raised. My parents not only made-do, but they made-doing an adventure, and a memorable one at that. Consequently, I am easily amused, game for adventure. Turns out, being raised in a functional family on a budget is great preparation for journalism. 

My career history reads like someone who can’t say no to the next best thing: teacher, principal, adjunct professor, marketer, speaker, journalist, expert on talented and gifted education. Residing in Morocco, Hong Kong, Washington, and Oregon, as well as traveling to numerous continents and countries, my husband (and co-writer, David Greenberg) and I have slurped noodles, sitting on overturned plastic buckets in Asian alleyways and dined in Michelin starred restaurants across the globe. I’ve slept on airport benches but much prefer the cool sheets and thoughtfully curated toiletries of five-star hotels.  

I hold a BA in English and Education and a M.Ed in School Administration from University of Washington and Seattle Pacific University. I founded and ran a marketing and advertising business, Greenlight Consulting, which handled accounts for medical practices, commercial contractors, and financial planners. Beyond typical marketing and advertising, I served as a ghostwriter for CEOs across diverse industries. 

Teaching elementary students, high schoolers, and adults in the US and abroad has taught me more about myself and the world than any other professional experience. Nominated by students, I was chosen as the Washington State ‘My Favorite Teacher’ and a Barnes and Noble Notable Teacher. 

My husband and I began co-writing in Hong Kong and expanded beyond restaurant and food writing to hotel and travel reviews. (See our article on Mumbai India https://www.ardentgourmet.com/mumbai-india-travel-review).

Returning to the United States, we continued writing reviews and posting them to our website (www.ardentgourmet.com). We began publishing restaurant reviews with our local paper, The Tillamook County Pioneer (https://www.tillamookcountypioneer.net/).

In 2022 we began publishing travel-food articles with Northwest Travel & Life magazine which are displayed here. Upcoming articles with them are, 1/ Three Days in the Applegate, 2/ Crater Lake Lodge, 3/ Hunting for Truffles with a Dog, 4/ From Rainforest to Rockies, Driving the Trans Canada Highway, 5/ Oregon Winter Waters Festival, 6/ Influential Japanese businesses in Portland, and 7/ Beaverton, Restaurants Popping.

Yet more articles are at our website, www.ardentgourmet.com