Vast Digital Design

I have more than 20 years experience creating and maintaining websites for nonprofit organizations and small-to-medium sized businesses throughout the United States (and world). ‘Back in the day’, websites were crafted, individually, by teams of designers and developers with specialized skills. Uniquely, I had (and have) both sets of skills, design *and* front-end development skills. Today, mass production and automation dominate the market for the creation of websites. Web developers with the ability to make websites from scratch are increasingly rare. I enjoy putting my skills and experience to work, especially creating custom interfaces that utilize the popular WordPress backend.

• I received an undergraduate degree from Lewis & Clark College of Portland, OR in 1994, with a major in art and a minor in religious studies.
• I received a master’s degree in digital media in 2002 from an international university in Iowa.
• I created my own service-learning project at the University of Pittsburgh as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer. That experience, creating websites for service-learning and nonprofit initiatives based out of the University of Pittsburgh, fulfilled the practicum requirement for my master’s degree.
• I received training and completed coursework in web development and computer science at the University of Pittsburgh, Human Factors International and Mills College.

I love where I live. I love my local North Portland neighborhood, St. Johns. I love Portland, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

When I’m not working in front of the computer, I’m often working in the yard – my “evolving oasis.” I’m in the process of building an urban farm on my regular size lot in the city with the following trees: apple, fig, persimmon, pomegranate, yuzu, kumquat, fruit cocktail and combination plum.  I grow veggies and berries and keep chickens.   I’m learning to can, dry and preserve as much as possible from my own landscape. An occasional quick and renewing trip to the coast brings mussels and clams into the mix. Growing my own food and gathering from the wild makes me feel incredibly connected to where I live, and inspires me to keep learning how to create a more sustainable lifestyle.

I love hiking. I’ve discovered so many beautiful trails near Portland. I sometimes coax friends and complete strangers to join me in these explorations. I also really appreciate the sense of empowerment that comes from solo activities, including solo thru-hiking the PCT.

Hiking inspired me to do more difficult treks which introduced me to solo backpacking and mountaineering. As a novice mountaineer I climbed the following peaks in Oregon and Washington: Mount St. Helens (many times), South Sister (a few times), Middle Sister, Old Snowy, Mt. McLoughlin and Mt. Adams.

I also enjoy more gentle activities that keep me engaged in the environment with a different kind of intensity, including mushroom hunting. Spring introduced me to morel mushrooms and other varieties of edible mushrooms. Fall is the optimum time for mushroom hunting in the Pacific Northwest and I enjoy the season’s bounty.

These days, I love to get out and about in the PNW with my teardrop camper. I camp every season. I am especially fond of the “off” season.

From the beginning, in my web work, I’ve chosen to focus on all the good things that the internet can bring to people and communities everywhere. I’ve done this mostly by choosing to work with people and organizations that are working to build a better world and helping them leverage the power of the internet to further their goals. Even while I appreciate the sense of place and belonging that staying within my local community affords me, I recognize that we are all connected in some way to localities everywhere. We have a lot to share and learn from one another. The internet can help facilitate this process as we all learn how to be global citizens in our local communities. I grew up with some global perspectives because my American born parents were teachers in international schools outside of the U.S. when I was a child.