Currently, I am a film director, documentarian and writer. I work on a range of projects, from those that are feature narrative movies to journalistic videos. I also do some imaging for scientific experiments, and document events, usually having something to do with seismology and volcanos. In my fictional films, I am an award winning filmmaker, winning Best of Sci Fi at the California International Animation Film Festival 2008, with the short animation Automaton. I also won Best of Sci Fi at the New York Film Festival 2010 with the feature sci-fi Defcon 2012.
My previous career had been flying. I flew high performance jets, and taught in an array of light planes. I have about 1000 hours of flying and getting paid for it! I served in the USAF.
My education includes Aerospace (design, tech, making it work), Aeronautics (flying 'em) and an MBA in International Business.
But my life is more than just two interesting careers! Perhaps the way I grew up has led me to bust down some barriers and not be afraid of being outside the usual boxes. I come from a dynamic and never boring family. I am California born and bred, a true California native, but not your typical stereotypical California girl. Many people may not realize that this big state has it's share of rural ranching areas, and fishing communities. It is made up of LA Botox Babes and Rednecks, and everything in between. I'm somewhere in between, being a rural girl. A bit of a cowgirl.
My young years were around ranches, farms, fishing boats, the wild hills and open ocean. My community was made up of some pretty brave and hardy people that didn't hold back one bit. Being timid and chicken was not an option. My memories include those of bobcats, mountain lions, bear, sharks, orcas (killer whales) and more! My mom and dad taught their five kids how to not let fear take over. We were encouraged to ride our horses out into the hills, to hike in the wilderness and to row our little dingies about the rocks and sea life.
My dad disdained what he perceived as weak people, those that pushed paper 9-5, commuted and fretted half the day. I see the importance of our great cubicle population, but he didn't. He certainly did not raise his kids to be cubicle types. He saw suburbia as way too conformist, and too socially engineered. He also saw how that existence may not last forever.
My grandfather was a famous film director and Naval commander. He made the rank of Rear Admiral, while still maintaining his career in the film industry. This was well before the peace, love and harmony takeover of Hollywood, and this was during the era of John Wayne. My Grandfather was John Ford.
My Grand Dad was a productive hard working guy, whose thinking was unique, and the Navy back then was smart enough to use all the brains and problem solving they could get. My Grand Dad served during WWII, and filmed the Battle of Midway. The Navy used his brains for some other, more defense critical, programs.
I'm proud of him.
So it's coming from a family like that, that makes me opposite to an in-the-box type. We're usually ranchers, farmers, officers, engineers and problem solvers. Those kind face the variables of life everyday, and learn to work around the imperfections of life. Pure conformists can't do that as effectively. But let me remind the world the we need our conformists too! We need folks that are good at specializing and getting some basic stuff done. I want my accountant to be normal focused kind of person ...
A bit more about me: I'm passionate about science, especially geology. I am helping the geology community image things, and getting the word out to the public what they can do for earthquake safety. I also am nuts about machines, and love cars and turbine aircraft. For fun, I surf, play music, sing, drink beer, hike, socialize, cook, garden and read.
If I think of anything else to say, I will add more.
Cheers!
