“Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature.” -Tom Robbins

Until recently, I had no idea so many people think I’m a little screwy in the head. Recent comments from my friends made it quite clear that I have a reputation, for example, “it figures you would do something like this” and “you are one of the craziest girls I know”. Well, I certainly never thought I was all that crazy and so can’t speak to the past, however, I fully acknowledge this fundraising voyage is a little eccentric! The great news is, I am in good company with Doug, Aparna, and the rest of the Adventurists teams, not to mention my friends and family who are contributing time, research and money to the madness.

“But, why?”

Somehow, “why not?” doesn’t seem quite enough of an answer, but then again, really … “why not?”?

Growing up in Bend, Oregon I was lucky enough to have a family that always encouraged me to explore life outside Central Oregon. Through their support, and the support of teachers and advisors, I made the decision to study Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College, a stellar undergraduate institution in Los Angeles, CA. I spent four years under the amazing guidance of professors and administrators, and blame them for my growing interest in experiencing a diversity of cultures, languages and climates :-)

Since I graduated from Oxy in 2006, I’ve been living in Boston and have been privileged enough to work with amazing people dedicated to health and human rights. While my time with them has been full of fun and learning, I am starting a killer graduate program this fall at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University here in Boston.

Why not take advantage of the transition time to explore more of this earth? Sure, spending a few weeks in Morocco bumming around would have been less work and perhaps a little more predictable, but where is the adventure in that? I can think of nothing more exciting to do with my summer respite than a cross-continental voyage, directly coupled with a raising awareness and cash for a worthy cause.

I am looking forward to using the unconventional nature of this trip to draw attention to Send A Cow, an organization that works to increase vulnerable populations access to agricultural development resources. Their creation and support of sustainable development projects in a variety of African countries is a solid investment in real people and real communities …. so stop reading about me and go to the Donate page and drop a couple bucks to support their awesome work!!!

Want more information? Feel free to contact me!