MY LOVE OF LITERATURE AND WRITING LED me to major in English at Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA, and then to pursue a master’s degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago. My academic background proved valuable in various positions I held over the years, as teacher of composition for Old Dominion University based at the Groton/New London Submarine Base in Groton, CT; as editor at Sonalysts, Inc. in Waterford, CT; and as the affirmative action officer/executive assistant to the president and later also as the Title IX coordinator and staff ombudsman at Connecticut College, New London, CT.
Early in my career at Connecticut College, I met Jo Vanderkloot, who is a graduate of the college. In addition to my job there, I began to collaborate with her and her partner, Myrtle Parnell (both family therapists): we consulted with businesses and organizations helping them find solutions to structural problems that often related to race relations. We began to explore the use of systems thinking, a primary approach used in family therapy, as a tool for understanding larger societal issues. Our research also branched into the new sciences, and we found that all these areas were mutually reinforcing. We taught our methods in brief but intensive between-semester courses for several years at Connecticut College. I also drew from my growing background in this area to help academic and staff departments at the college surmount the challenges they faced.
Now retired from Connecticut College, I am focusing full-time on sharing our approach for resolving complex problems in families, the workplace, and in society at large as broadly as possible.