- I grew up as an Army brat. We moved about every three years and I continued to change residences even after leaving for college. I have lived in Utah, Alabama, Virginia, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Washington DC, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico and New York plus Germany and Italy.
- I have been a ballet dancer since the age of three. I started dancing in Germany and still take class two or three times a week in Schenectady. I love the art form and it's great exercise!
- I hold dual citizenship in the US and Italy but am not "ethnically" Italian. I met my husband Andrea in Rome, Italy during a study abroad program and we reconnected several years later. We got married in Italy and I lived there for four years. I am fluent in Italian and we go to Rome once or twice a year.
- About 10 years ago, I got my motorcycle license through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course at HVCC. I love riding! In fall 2021, I competed in the Motogiro d'Italia, a historic Italian road race that lasts six days and runs more than 1700 km across Italy. It was a real challenge but also a great time.
- I love cats. I have almost always had a cat since I was eight years old. In Rome, I volunteered at a cat refuge in the site where Julius Cesar was killed. Our current cat is a Maine Coon named Desmo. He travels with us by car and plane and seems to enjoy it. He also walks on a leash.
- I skipped 8th grade. During our move from DC to Iowa school administrators decided I was ready to go right to high school. It meant I was always a little younger than my classmates and I was the last one in my friend group to get a driver's license.
- I worked in the documentary film industry while completing graduate school in Boston and Rome and was Associate Producer of the Burning Sands series that aired on Discovery Channel, RAI (Italy) and Teleimages (France). I was undecided if I wanted to find a position as a professor or work in film/video. Obviously, the former won out!
- As an undergraduate in Chicago, I worked in the alternative rock music business, helping a small label find artists and doing promotions. We put out the first single by the Smashing Pumpkins.
- My husband and I own a house in Schenectady that was built in 1902. It was one the first American homes to have electricity! It's quite large and perfect for my husband's online antiquarian and collectible book business, Parigi Books.
- I drink five espressos a day on average; it has less caffeine than filter coffee. You can read more about my espresso obsession in Espresso: The Art and Soul of Italy.
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