I grew up in a large family on a farm in Central Minnesota, graduated in 1969 from the Pierz, MN school system along with 127 classmates. I attended one year at Concordia College, then entered the US Peace Corps, serving as an agricultural extension agent for the Colombian Coffee Federation from 1970 - 72. I then attended the University of Minnesota, taking breaks to travel and study abroad. I spent 1974-75 on a U of MN scholarship to Hungary, and spent the summer of 1975 working in an orchard in Poland. I next went to Madison, WI to get my M.A. in agricultural economics, and received a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Poland 1977 - 78. I began my work career at the US Dept of Agriculture in Washington, DC, specializing in international agricultural trade. After five years with USDA I went on to spend the remainder of my career working for international trade associations, first in grains, and then in cotton. I am now retired and still spend a lot of time traveling for pleasure. Over the course of my career I have visited nearly 100 countries. I enjoy languages, culture, music, reading, harmonica playing, and most of all enjoy people.