Hailing from an eccentric family of musicians in Kaysville, Utah, I quietly went around collecting academic achievements in the first 30 years of life. See below for a list of some of the shiny badges I’ve collected, but now I don’t think they’re very important.

Serendipitously, while I was climbing the Ivory Tower, I discovered the things that do matter: curiosity, compassion, courage, and the almost boundless power of a good story. I traveled the world. I married my soul mate. I lived in olde England and New England.

I returned to Utah to teach History at my alma mater, Weber State University, and spent the next 15 years searching for interesting ways to tell the human story. In my gen-ed classes especially, apathetic students were my greatest teachers. How do I make history relevant and interesting to people who don’t care?

I realized that human stories are the heart of everything, bringing the big picture to life.

I designed and led Study Abroad courses for a decade, and as a result I am passionate about the power of travel as education. Nothing beats learning about the past, while standing right where it happened.

I created a little family (with my Philosopher husband) and we’ve spent years covered in plaster, dust, and dirt as we fix up a little Victorian cottage. Our live-in Zen master is a rescue schnauzer named Winslow.

With my sister (a Women’s Studies professor), I launched What’sHerName, a women’s history podcast, and was surprised when it found an enthusiastic global audience.

I used to think Utah history was boring. My focus had always been far-flung parts of the world—the further back in time, the better. But after my students taught me to look for the human stories in “boring” history, I went looking for the human characters in Ogden history. Boy did I find them.

Now, I know our famously gritty Ogden for what it truly is: a place of global historical significance, with a deeply inspiring story to tell.