My flying experience began with my first flight (ok really, fall) after I built a hang glider out of bamboo and plastic at age 12 in 1974 and jumped off the roof of our house. After some glider reconstruction with duct tape, my second flight was achieved by a 15 mph wind lifting me straight up and then flying backwards. The glider, well let’s just say the duct tape didn’t hold, but I had tasted flight for the first time and have been hooked ever since! I became a private pilot in 1984 but found the joy of flying again in 1987 when I learned to fly hang gliders at Kitty Hawk Kites, where I also have great memories of later being an instructor! In 2014 I opened Blue Water Hang Gliding School in Minnesota where I currently instruct April through October and am in the beginning stage of forming a new club. As a Regional Director, a priority of mine is to increase awareness and understanding of what our region’s needs are through increased communication between our state’s pilots. The goal being to support each local club through a forum that addresses regional needs that are familiar and important to all of us. My qualifications outside of flying are 30 plus years working in education, two master’s degrees, one in counseling psychology and the other in educational administration/leadership. I have started and operated two small businesses. What I bring to the table on the regional and national level is an ability to keep difficult conversations open, inclusive, and productive in order to find sustainable solutions.