A bit about what I do

I live and work in the Denver, Colorado area. I am an entrepreneur, world traveler, and day dreamer. I am passionate for learning about and experimenting with new ways of living and working in community. My current focus in this domain revolves around leveraging targeted currencies and the Internet for developing community strength, and ecovillages as a sustainable model for community-based living.

I am blessed to partner with true visionaries and spend my days with geeks, who I love dearly. I keep saying that one day I'll write a book about the geek phenomenon. Just wait for it...

I've co-founded two unique companies in the past few years, which we use to develop currencies and the technology to support them. We don't really use job titles in either one, so just think of me as a goddess among a gaggle of geeks.

These are the companies:

The Geek Gene where we develop and host web sites and other custom software development. We've been developing Congo-DB, a contextually grouped database that supports uber-flexibile and distributed data. We are using Congo and Nango to create SourceTree, an opensource project repository and geek collaboration community.

At Targeted Currencies Network we focus on the vital flows in communities, and develop dynamic systems to build trust and reputation, leverage existing assets and strengthen loyalty and participation.

Some of the projects we have implemented include employee incentive plans, local currency systems, volunteer rewards, feedback systems for ecology management, and participatory information value and ranking. We’ve worked with businesses, governments, non-profits, and online communities, as well as conferences and events.

We are always open to partnering with other people who are interested in the work we do, and are especially looking for geeks to participate in developing and improving our technologies.

My latest and greatest project is the Mile High Business Alliance, a not-for-profit organization of Denver Metro businesses and supporters working to transform and model an economy built on sustainable practices. We envision sustainable business practices that lead to a healthy environment, meaningful employment, strong communities and buying local first as commonplace in our region and a model for the rest of the world.

Where I come from

I was born and raised in southwest Kansas. I have a huge family - my mother is the youngest of 15 children. I have over 100 1st cousins. In 1999 I made Colorado my home, with a brief stint in Houston, TX.

I quit school at 15 (and did manage to finish school in creative ways) to pursue my dream of being a missionary. I participated in a full time ministry (with a religion I no longer belong to) for 5 years.

This lead to me having an interesting, varied, and long job history. I've washed dishes, waited tables, cleaned about everything you can think of, driven a school bus, been a lunch lady, telemarketed, taught kindergarden, and danced on a beer tub. I've managed residential apartment buildings, been a bookkeeper and managed programs for a non-profit foundation. Most of my days are now filled working with Arthur Brock and other amazing people at The Geek Gene and the Mile High Business Alliance. The important thing to remember about my job history (for those who can't imagine it), is that I've been working since I was 14 years old, and I've usually had 3 jobs at a time.

I am Potawatomi, enrolled in the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, the ninth largest federally-recognized native tribe in the US. My family is of the Thunder Clan. I am ever learning what being Native American means for me, and how I can contribute to this community.

What else to know about me? I dream all the time - both awake and asleep. I am always learning how to express my love better. I love to read children's books. I read books of all kinds. I'm awed by trees. I'm a sucker for action movies. I wish I still knew all the people I've loved.

For more information about me, visit my personal web site.