What do you do when you are not working on TEDx? Along with running Dotworks Design, an independent graphic design studio, I solo parent an amazing 12-year-old boy and our growing menagerie of pets. I’m a library trustee for the Portsmouth Public Library and volunteer as a UNH Marine Docent so I can teach kids about our incredible seacoast. I also make sure to squeeze in potluck dinners and Mah Jong with my cherished pandemic pod friend group. All of which often requires closing my eyes to the never-ending list of household maintenance.

Favorite TED Talk ever: The one that hasn’t been given yet. There are so many TED Talks that have opened my mind to new things. I love hearing about how ordinary people do extraordinary things. I want TED Talks to keep growing and expanding, and can’t wait to hear my next favorite.

Favorite part of TEDx Portsmouth: I always leave this event so inspired and wired. I’m amazed at the diversity and creativity within this community — how so many people have interesting things to share, and are willing to put so much energy into enhancing Portsmouth and beyond.

And, if you could see any historical figure, living or dead, give a TED Talk, who would it be and what would they talk about? I never got to meet my grandmother, who was a pioneer in her own right. I’d love to be able to hear her recount how her grit and ingenuity led her to shelter a Jewish child during the Holocaust, work on women’s commissions during the 1950’s and raise four children as a young widow.