I wanted to be a Ninja Turtle when I grew up. Not for Halloween or ‘Show and Tell’, nope, for real. Fast forward a few decades and I’m living the dream in a slightly different manner. Albeit I may not be a lean, green, fighting machine, I still strive to be the figure of safety and sanity to those around me – whether friend, foe, family or foreigner. I am a helper. A giver. A fighter. And I am a friend.

I did my undergraduate studies at San Diego State University because I thought that an education in business would help open doors (or windows) to walk in and out of – and in many respects it did. I worked for free, I worked for percentages, I worked for salaries well beyond my scope of reasonable experience. I put my heart in and I left with my soul intact, cool as a cucumber.

When I entered the culinary world I opted for education inside of kitchens over a classroom – I figured my university education, at the very least, taught me how to keep track of notes and good ideas. This is where the chapter ends and begins. My career and life have gone from managing restaurants to working culinary productions to crafting social media trends to micro-brewing to natural and sustainable farming. I put my soul in and rooted myself to the earth, and began to search for meaning.

Over the years I have focused on my interests – mental and physical health practices, modern engineering, chemical and biological sciences, meditation, yoga and holistic medicines – honed my talents in the culinary, arts and marketing fields. I am a helper. A giver. A fighter. A healer. A gift. But most of all, I am a friend.