People often ask me how I came to be a Celebrant.  There are a couple parts to the answer.

The first is that it’s in my blood.  My grandfather was a justice of the peace in our small, rural upstate New York town.  Most summer weekends would find him and my grandmother happily hopping into the car and driving over the rolling Finger Lakes hills to perform weddings.  I think some weddings even happened in their kitchen!  Now that I’m back in my hometown, I think of him every time I drive off to a wedding.  I carry him and my grandmother in my heart as I do this work.

The second part of the answer is that my interests have always swirled around human connection, community, storytelling, creativity, and spirituality.  I had never heard of a Celebrant until I started following a passion of mine and researching the home funeral movement.  Through my reading I came across the Celebrant Foundation & Institute, and found out that what I wanted to do was actually a thing!  I wanted to help make meaningful ceremony – help people really feel the importance of the life transitions they were going through, and do it in a personal, human way, celebrating real stories and real lives, especially for people who don’t belong in a faith community.  I am certified in Weddings, Funerals, and Ceremonies Across the Life-Cycle.  I truly love this work.

My husband and son and I live in a tiny home on a beautiful farm in Brooktondale, NY, just miles from my parents, sisters, grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  I am so happy to be here.  I play violin, enjoy local politics, and try to run in all kinds of weather.  In addition to “celebranting” I serve as the Executive Director of the Community Arts Partnership.  I like fermenting things (like kimchi and jun).  I sing in the car.  I look forward to meeting YOU!