I’m a native Arizonan and grew up on a working cattle ranch located on the border of Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora and Chihuahua. My ranch life gives me hands-on experience in conservation grazing, resource management and cross border, large-scale land protection and connectivity. I am a graduate of Douglas High School, and Evergreen State College in Washington, where I hold a double major in Cultural Anthropology and Western Literature. Inspired by several years living and teaching in Nepal, I returned home to the Southwest to earn a Masters Degree in Eastern Classic Literature and Sanskrit from St. Johns College in Santa Fe, NM. I have training and experience in ecosystem and watershed management, holding certificates in wetlands and stream bed restoration from David Rosgen’s Wildland Hydrology, and the Master Watershed Stewardship Program from the University of Arizona. Through my travels in Asia, I’m versed in traditional, nomadic grazing practices, having traveled and lived with Mongolian and Tibetan livestock raisers. I am a board member of the Malpai Borderlands Group, and serve on the board of trustees of the Animas Foundation in New Mexico. I currently co-manage our family ranch in southwestern New Mexico, known for its high degree of biological diversity, endemic species, and good forage.