My background is in Water Planning and Policy, Civil Engineering and Hydrogeology, and Water Journalism. In 2012, I founded an online water media and education nonprofit (WaterCitizen), which includes a Media outlet. We also offer online courses, communities and virtual transformational mastermind programs for Women Water Professionals and Water Entrepreneurs. I work from home or wherever I can get work done on my laptop or phone. If I am traveling to your city, chances are it is to provide media coverage for some sort of water-related conference, although I do try to schedule in time to visit with my hosts when I can and if they are available!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I used to travel more and loved experiencing new cultures - my most memorable experiences where those where I had the opportunity to connect with people who lived in the placed I was visiting and to see their cities through their eyes. As a former rugby player, we often provided "billeting" to our visiting teams, and enjoyed staying with our host teams when we traveled. Ditto for when I traveled to personal development workshops and was hosted by locals attending the workshop. When I'm working, I'm working - but I do try to find time to hang and/or find time to spend with hosts if they have time.

Having been both a host and a guest in such arrangements so often prior to joining Couchsurfing, I always made it a point of communicating with my hosts (or guests) to ensure we were both clear on whether they wanted time to hang out and get to know each other (which some hosts wanted to do, benefitting from the cultural exchange aspects of Couchsurfing), or whether they were too busy to hang out but just wanted to support travelers with a place to stay. I did my best to check ahead of time whether the space was likely to work out (e.g. if it was accessible by public transportation so I could get where I needed to go, what the accomodattions were like, whether wifi was available), and then to communicate when I arrived about the host's expectations for neatness, use of common spaces (use of kitchen and bathroom), etc. - just generally being open and mature in communications.

Since the last several years have been spent developing my nonprofit, and most of my travels have been to provide press coveragerelated meetings and conferences, I also communicated my schedule - often offering to arrive early or stay late before or after the conference if I'm staying with a host who wanted to hang out.

Since I recognize that this is a cultural exchange and an opportunity to be a guest in someone's home, if things are a little off - e.g. if we don't quite click, or if the place was messy or the host was a little late or if things aren't quite as described (e.g. the time I came to a home where they guy assured me he had a comfortable air mattress but when I got there he said he couldn't find the air mattress and only had a love seat - not even a full couch to sleep on) - then I typically don't post negative reviews because I wouldn't want to damage someone else's profile. People are different and that's part of the travel experience. I have had a handful of crowdsurfing experiences that have been pretty bad - and then were made worse by the hosts posting negative reviews that were, frankly, not true. But I continue to believe in the best in people so I'm still here! Keeping the faith! If II send you a couchsurfing request, it means I've read your profile and I think you'd be an interesting person to get to know. Happy to get on a call before confirming if you have questions and want to get to know me before agree

Interests

I used to play and coach rugby and other team sports (soccer, hockey) but mostly just do yoga or workout. I used to sing with bands, choirs, and a cappella groups but my voice is very out of shape. I love movies and live music.

• photography
• education
• coach
• traveling
• music
• live music
• sports
• business
• communications
• teaching
• journalism
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

All sorts!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The Galapagos, China, Eastern Europe. Launching a nonprofit from scratch!

Teach, Learn, Share

I teach about water for a living so would rather not stay up all night to talk about water BUT am happy to talk for a while about cool stuff going on in water. If you're in entertainment, journalism, photography or film, water recreation, sports, online education, I'm fascinated!

What I Can Share with Hosts

If you want to get better at virtual engagement, or start an online business based on your expertise, I can help!

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Switzerland, Taiwan

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, England, United States