Background and Expertise
My background and expertise is primarily in fiber art—as a sheep farmer and fiber producer, knitwear designer and cottage industry entrepreneur, graphic designer, agricultural marketer, an Apple retail specialist, and five years on the Port Townsend dock for the largest ferry system in the US. I’m a hobby photographer, dog lover, choral singer and handbell ringer. I have created/managed/lived on three different farms in Maine during 40 years of my adult life. Raised sheep for 35 years, also beef critters, chickens, goats, gardens. Yes, I miss the sheep and the barns and farm life.
Databases and Promotion
For nine years at the Maine Department of Agriculture I managed a large database of Maine food and farm producers, created the first statewide online interactive search linking consumers with Maine farms and agricultural events. I designed and produced marketing materials, forms, ads and posters, catalogs, and many yearly statewide consumer and wholesale printed buyer directories from surveying the farms in this database. This promotional work took place before google and internet searches made paper directories kind of obsolete, but they helped hundreds of food and farm producers increase their direct sales in the era that preceded the ability to order anything from anywhere right from one’s cell phone.
Nonprofit
During the 15 years at Maine Fiberarts, I have created print graphic material, postcards, posters, ads, gallery lists, and helped with grant writing, thinking and planning and reporting. Managed simple member databases and moved up to Little Green Light in 2021 I built and designed and managed two websites: mainefiberarts.org and mainefiberfolio.com and wrestled with platforms, systems, programs and endless requirements.
Pacific Northwest
Through a series of casually made and fiercely intentional decisions over a 10 year period, In 2012 I moved across the country to the Pacific Northwest. I thought I would retire in Oregon, but ended up in Washington for 11 years, settling in a lovely and unique town on Quimper Peninsula jutting out from the more famous Olympic Peninsula, and a tourist mecca. I moved to Oregon in March of 2023, but still have not retired.
Brief and simplified background recap
- Assistant to Executive Director of Maine Fiberarts
- Grant writing experience as an assistant writer/editor and conceptual thinker
- Website design, management and creation including content and backend development
- Background in agriculture at my farm and professionally
- Writing, posting, rewriting items for website bulletins and newsletters
- Creation of print newsletters and books with a fiber art connection
- 45 years database management
- 35+ years as computer geek
- 15 years working for a nonprofit arts organization
- 8 years creating email newsletters
- 23 years working on websites
- 10 years working for State of Maine
- 5 years working for State of Washington
- 34 years raising sheep
- BA in Psychology and MS in Human Development, University of Maine, Orono, Maine