The Hidden Life of Rotting Wood: What Decomposition Can Teach Us About Resilience
I’ve spent a lot of time in forests over the years, and if you’d asked me early in my career what the most fascinating thing in a forest was, I might have said the trees themselves—the towering oaks, the maples, the pines. But over time, I’ve come to realize that some of the most extraordinary […]
How Fungi Saved My Curiosity (and Might Save the Planet)
I didn’t set out to become a “fungi person.” In fact, for much of my life, I barely gave mushrooms a second thought. But over the years, as I worked in forests, studied biology, and explored ecosystems up close, fungi revealed themselves as some of the most fascinating, important, and downright weird organisms on the […]
Affordability Is Access: Why Holding the Line on Tuition Matters for Working Families
When people ask me why I chose to dedicate my career to community colleges, the answer is always the same: because we are the open door. Community colleges are where possibility begins—regardless of income, age, background, or experience. We don’t turn people away. We meet them where they are, and we walk beside them as […]
The Spirit of Service: How Community Engagement Builds Stronger Colleges and Stronger Citizens
When I look back at the most meaningful moments in my career, they often have one thing in common: service. Not the kind of service that shows up in reports or resumes, but the kind rooted in community. Helping one another. Pitching in. Lifting up. Whether it was a food drive, a student-led cleanup effort, […]