Coeur d'Alene Staff

Personal Profile

Adoption has always held a special place in my life. The desire to help orphans took root in my heart as my friendship with a child named Tommy grew. He was adopted from Korea as a young child, and had always told his father how many little boys were without a home or family.

Tommy passed away at age 12, but the impact this friendship had on my life is still felt. His adoption made our friendship and a great life for him, possible. From this experience the seed of desire to help orphaned children grew. Years later I went on a mission trip to Russia, and visited a number of different orphanages. I was able to get a real feeling of what it must have been like for Tommy and all the little boys he talked about. From then on, I was determined to do something to help these children.

Professional Background

I graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology. I have worked for many years with children, and often find myself connecting most with at-risk youth. I had the opportunity to work at a Shelter for Pregnant Women in Crisis in San Jose, CA and did individual counseling with each of these women. I was also a Probation Officer’s Assistant. My experience as a tracker was valuable, but it reinforced the desire I felt to work in a more pro-active way with at-risk youth. It is my desire to see orphaned children placed in a safe and secure environment, and I am extremely grateful to be a part of the process.

Personal Profile & Professional Background

As a young child I was interested in adoption. Little did I know that my husband, Ron, and I would have a family through adoption. Our first child, Jacob, was adopted from Romania in 1991. I spent six weeks in Romania working through the adoption process. We were hoping to adopt two children but due to the difficulty of the process felt blessed to bring Jacob home. Wanting to spend more time with Jacob, I left my career in 4-H/Youth Development work to be a stay-at-home mother. I worked part-time writing home studies for Americans for International Aid and Adoption and became excited about helping couples become families.

In 1993, we adopted two older sisters, Jeana, age 12, and Katy, age 9, through the Idaho Foster Care system. The girls had been in foster care for several years and had lived with seven different families. Through the years, there have been many difficult issues we have worked through together with God’s help. Our daughters, now 28 and 25 have families of their own and we have the joy of four grand-children.

My educational background is from the University of Idaho, where I have two degrees. My Bachelor’s Degree is in Education with a minor in Psychology, and my Master’s Degree is in Guidance and Counseling. I have worked for the past seven years as an adoption caseworker with over 70 adopting families and 15 birthparents. My interests include singing, my two Morgan horses, three dogs, and two cats, flower gardening, traveling, and spending time with my family. I am excited to be a part of A New Beginning!