I was born and raised in Oregon. As one of the oldest cousins in our large extended family I was always will to help watch the younger children and volunteer to provide childcare at church. I don’t think it came as a surprise to anyone when I left home to take a “temporary” job as a nanny in Alaska. That job grew into a 10-year adventure where I helped the children I worked with grow into strong, independent individuals and I myself grew as a caregiver, teacher, administrator and advocate.
I moved to Nome in 2012 to continue working with children and families. There I developed a love of small tightknit communities and saw how important the support and resources we provided were for ensuring children could grow and thrive in areas where they would otherwise be limited. Here in Homer I see Sprout providing those same valuable resources to the community. I want to do my part to support Sprout’s effort and spread the message to others.