Growing up on a small ranch outside of Winside, Nebraska, I have lived and breathed rural my whole life. I now live in Wayne, a community I'm proud to call home.

I still help out with my family’s horse-run, grass-fed beef operation, Lightning Creek Cattle Co., when I’m not editing and writing for the Center for Rural Affairs.

I graduated from Wayne State College with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications/broadcasting and a master’s degree in English education/editing and publishing. I loved the town of Wayne so much that I decided to stay here for good.

Working for the Center has given me the opportunity to combine two of my passions - editing/writing and seeing rural America grow and thrive. If I could somehow add my pets into this equation (three cats and three dogs), I’d really have it made.