I was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area in Berkeley, California, by my mother, the ballerina and my father, the doctor. We were the epitome of an Irish Catholic family, which I mention because I am now in religious studies.

After earning a B.A. in Art and a minor in Psychology at San Jose State University, I moved to San Francisco to enter the world of graphics and advertising, which I later continued in Paris. Eventually I yearned for something more meaningful. I went back to school and earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology and then a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Religion. I met my husband at the graduate school. We were in the same program and studied world religions, especially Buddhism and Christianity. My dissertation was a spiritual autobiography that explored East — West connections. This lead me to travel to the largest Buddhist monument in the world and the “Notre Dame” churches in France. And eventually it led me to teaching the importance of “sacred journey”, the class which was developed from the World Religions class I used to teach. I have now been teaching world religions in the context of sacred journey for twelve years.