I grew up in the hot, dry, windy Mojave desert in southern Nevada, where I received my undergraduate degree. I experienced life in the big city when I attended medical school at the University of California, San Francisco. I survived my family medicine residency in Ventura, California by taking a long walk on the beach whenever I could. My husband, infant daughter and I then moved to rural New Mexico where I worked in small clinics in underserved communities. It was an adventure! We lived in an adobe house on two acres on the Rio Grande, and I gained valuable experience practicing rural family medicine, especially with patients who spoke Spanish as their primary language. I was able to pass on this experience to new physicians as a professor in the North Colorado Family Medicine Residency Program. Finally, as we looked for a place where we could settle down, we found Bellingham. We love Bellingham! We love the town, the incredible opportunities for playing outdoors, the cultural opportunities, and the most glorious summers on the planet. Most of all, we love the people.

My diverse experience in different practice settings and with a wide variety of patient populations has helped me become a well-rounded physician. My practice emphasizes the most current, evidence-based medical care, with a priority on preventive healthcare. As a member of the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP), I have become the de facto office expert on abnormal pap smears. I have a particular interest in travel consultations, and I am proud to have received the Certifcate of Knowledge from the International Society of Travel Medicine. 

I work with my patients to help them live balenced lives and practice healthy habits. I follow my own advice by walking to work most of the year, practicing yoga, and running (slowly - but I have a few half-marathons under my belt). In the summer I spend most of my spare time working in my (too) large vegetable garden. I share my life with my husband, my college-age daughter, two elderly cats that I rescued from a clinic basement in Truchas, New Mexico, and a ridiculously large fiber stash that only another dedicated knitter/spinner could possibly understand.