I am a truth seeker, creative spirit, and a community builder. My diverse skills and interests span the arts and sciences, risk and data assessment, and health and wellness.
I earned my Bachelor's degree at the University of la Verne where I majored in my favorite passion and pass time History. Taking full advantage of my opportunity to nourish my passion for reading original texts, I deepened my understanding of systems like art, religion, government, and business and use this context to navigate the present. I enjoy identifying the patterns I see in media headlines and contextualizing the deeper story with my history background. Please feel at ease, Chicken Little has always cried “the sky is falling”.
I’ve been a musician for as long I can remember picking up my first Violin at the age of thirteen, and participating in orchestras and mariachi groups since. My appreciation and passion for fine music and its composition is a hobby that continues to bring me joy and balance. While at Whittier College I joined the choir and benefited from personal vocal lessons from Dr. Landis, an outstanding coach and mentor who broke me out of my shell and quite literally taught me anyone can sing.
I believe in community, friendship, and if it’s not too corny to admit, I believe in the power of Loving-Kindness; which to loosely quote Dr. Tarah Brach from Radical Acceptance, Loving-Kindness is a reminder to the self and our neighbor, that it is our human condition that makes us all kin and worthy of unconditional respect and appreciation.
I enjoy living through appreciating the simple things life has to offer like meditating, reading, yoga, gardening, and cooking. It’s been my experience that the strongest solutions to our tests are the simplest, just like the best dishes are cooked from the simplest ingredients. And because the universe keeps expanding, I feel it is my duty to follow suit and expand the life-long learner within me by growing my heart and mind.
Have fun and be safe! <3
~JD
