The first question I vividly remember asking myself was, “Why am I here?”
Not in the philosophical sense of purpose, but a literal one—why rural Indiana? Without realizing it, that was the beginning of a lifelong curiosity about place, especially rural ones: their geography and geology, the weather and the weeds, what’s present, what’s missing, and the cultures that grow up around all of it.

I’ve spend most of my life working in and around agriculture. My first job was on a family tobacco farm, and I grew up immersed in 4-H and FFA. During college, I spent my summers working on the spongy moth invasive species program, where I gained experience in field data collection and environmental monitoring. After graduation, I managed a butterfly farm in central Florida before eventually returning to the Midwest. There, I spent nearly a decade in public sector forestry in rural Ohio, serving as a GIS and data analyst on a second invasive species program. My work focused on developing maps, managing spatial data, and supporting field operations.

My academic background is rooted in the humanities, business, and tech: I hold a BA in History from Indiana University in which one of the most essential questions is “where?”, which still guides my work. I also hold an MBA in IT Management from Western Governors University, training that’s shaped my thinking around business, systems, structure, and how people use information.

Throughout it all, a thread has remained constant: an interest in how people relate to land and place—not just economically, but emotionally, culturally, and historically. This site is my way of exploring those questions. I’m interested in how place shapes identity, how memory lives on maps, and how rural businesses and organizations can grow with depth and meaning.

I especially care about small farmers, land-based businesses, and the cultural textures of rural life, things like old ag tech, music, literature, and local stories. I want to know what gets passed down, what’s left behind, and what we decide to carry forward.

This site is just getting started. But if you’re interested in thoughtful living, rural life, or the creative use of data and story, I hope you’ll stick around.