I was born in Rhinebeck, New York in the beautiful Hudson Valley.  My father was a farmer who served on the school board and many other community boards.  My mother was an elementary teacher who spent her retirement years dedicated to Habitat for Humanity and the arts.

I was educated in Rhinebeck public schools and graduated from Russell Sage College in 1966 with a degree in Elementary Education and American Government.  I taught first grade in Hyde Park, New York.  After living in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania for seven years, our family moved to Charlottesville in 1974. 

My career has centered on education.  I have worked with the Mid-Career Executive Program in the University’s Department of Government, and as Associate Director of the Virginia Museum of Natural History at UVA.  Most recently, I was Executive Director of the Charlottesville Area School Business Alliance (CASBA). 

My husband Rick and I are the parents of two daughters, Tina Goode and Amy Gill.  We are the very proud grandparents of Laurel and Thomas Goode and Caroline Gill.