I was born in Chicago, grew up in Maryland, and went to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. During high school and college I studied German, which first introduced me to the need for Christ in Europe and so at 15 years old, started to feel a call to ministry in Europe. My parents also ran a Christian Ministry in Maryland, which gave me the confidence needed to take the of leap of faith into full-time service in Europe.

I have two brothers who are both married and have given me two nephews and three nieces that live in Michigan and Maryland. I am very close with my family and cherish any moment I can be with them including plenty of whatsapp and facetime calls. Despite the challenge of living so far from family (other than my super cute dog Kiko), I have been church planting with Communitas in Spain for almost 15 years now (since January of 2006).

Having never studied Spanish, it’s definitely a “God thing” that I ended up in Spain, but I absolutely love my life and community here as well as the Spanish people and their culture. In 2006 I started working with an international church plant in Madrid, Oasis Madrid, until the middle of 2013 when I made the transition to Valencia to lead a brand new church plant based in the neighborhood of Ruzafa called Poiema Colectiva.

In September of 2020, I stepped into a new role within Communitas, Chief Wellness Officer. Through my extensive experience on the field, my gifting as a shepherd, and my value for missionaries to function from a place of spiritual health and being well equipped, leading the teams that focus on Training and Staff Care and Development seems to be the perfect fit for this next season of ministry for me. I continue to remain involved with Poiema Colectiva as well.