I work for a small nonprofit organization in Richmond, VA that provides restorative justice services and training. Prior to this, I have worked as mediator, dialogue facilitator, church consultant, writing and ESOL tutor, mental health case manager, library assistant, farm worker, and restaurant employee. I studied peace studies and conflict transformation in college and graduate school.

I grew up in intentional communities in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio and in northern Illinois, where my parents worked as organic farmers. I've lived in Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, West Virginia, Indiana, California, and Virginia. I am passionate about community, faith and spirituality, social justice, restorative justice, sustainable agriculture, and the natural world.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I enjoy traveling and meeting new people. I've hosted travelers through mutual connections and received the same hospitality on various occasions, so Couchsurfing seemed like a convenient way to do this - although I am still very new to the Couchsurfing world.

Interests

• poetry
• cooking
• baking
• gardening
• board games
• traveling
• dumpster diving
• cycling
• hiking
• social justice
• conversation
• foraging
• birdwatching

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: An eclectic mix, including Leonard Cohen, Simon and Garfunkel, Mandolin Orange, Nickel Creek, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Common, Pink Floyd, Green Day, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, BB King, Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, and many others.

Books: 1984, An Altar in the World, East of Eden, Lord of the Rings, The Moral Imagination, The New Jim Crow,

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

When I was in college, I spent a few months living with a host family and volunteering with local non-profit that assisted small-scale guinea pig farmers in the mountains of Peru. I would travel to small villages by kombi bus or on the back of a motorcycle, interview the farmers, record data about the guinea pigs. Along the way, I learned a few Quechua words and phrases, crawled through a partly excavated tunnel of 4500 year old ruins, wrestled participated in traditional Carnival festivities, and became enchanted with the Andes mountains.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Good conversation, poetry, stories, knowledge about edible wild plants, cooking skills.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Ireland, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru