I have many personal interests spanning travel, the outdoors, animals and human rights.

A few that are dear to my heart include:

Project Wezesha! I am the co-founder of a non-profit that strives to increase access to education for children in remote Western Tanzania. We have two primary programs – a scholarship program for students who wish to attend secondary school and study camps that serve to boost academic year learning over the breaks between semesters. Students in our scholarship program are working hard to reach their educational goals with the help of generous supporters of Project Wezesha. Some of our recent graduates have already started working as administrative assistants and teachers. Our first students entered university in 2017! We also worked closely with the village of Mgaraganza, Tanzania to build the first secondary school in the area. Amahoro Secondary School opened in January 2015 and serves children in 5 incorporated villages! Please take a moment to visit our site and learn more. Click here.

Fostering Dogs! I was a foster mom for dogs rescued by organizations in Salt Lake City, UT including No More Homeless Pets Utah and Community Animal Welfare Society (CAWS). I also worked with Salt Lake County Animals Services to foster pit bulls through their progressive Salt Lake County Pit Crew program that raises awareness and education about the breed to fight discrimination based on appearances. I recently adopted a staffordshire bull terrier puppy from Potter’s Angels, an organization based in Vermont. His name is Lumen and he really does bring light to everyone’s life!

Travel! I was bitten early by the travel bug. My parents are Irish immigrants, so I’ve had a passport since I was a baby. Thanks to that early introduction to transnational flights, I was always ready to book a ticket to the next destination. Combine that with my love of exploring other lands, cultures and languages and I officially have wanderlust! I’ve visited 40+ countries on 6 continents. My explorations have been motivated by adventure (climbing, cycling and surfing), language learning, language teaching and sustainable development work.

The Great Outdoors! I moved west to Utah in large part due to my love of rock climbing. Once I arrived to the land of adventurers, I began to explore snowboarding, mountain biking, road biking and trail running. I was fortunate to live in Armenia for two years, where the mountains meet the sky. I live for my time in the mountains and the sunshine. Now I’m exploring all that Vermont has to offer. I look forward to many more adventures throughout my life.