Ever since I was pregnant with our first daughter, India, I became hyper-aware of the environment. I was raised in San Gregorio, CA on seven acres. My grandparents lived with us, we raised chickens and ducks for their eggs and natural ability to control the bugs in our large garden. My two younger brothers and I climbed trees in the orchard and made mazes in the hay field next to us, we got charged by a buck and chased up a tree once and went on creek walks everyday during the summer. We knew where our food came from because we helped plant, tend and harvest it. We understood our place in nature because we were surrounded by it. I always knew what season it was and what that meant as far as food on the table. I had an amazing childhood, and while I was pregnant I thought long and hard about how to recreate this for our children. It seemed impossible and I went into a mini depression. Luckily from the depths of despair came action. I got on board with several causes, Natural Resources Defense Council NRDC , Nature Conservancy TNC , Environmental Defense and Ocean Conservancy . These are the organizations that I routinely support with financial contributions, however there are many more that I love and support in other ways.

Once India was born, I had a lot of time to surf the net as I was a stay at home mom and watching an infant breastfeed and sleep doesn't take much bandwidth :-) I became educated about many things and found that they are all interrelated, hence my very long areas of focus section. If I had to pick a few things they would be Marine Ecology and Conservation , Sustainable Living and Renewable Energy . I feel that if we can nail these three things, we'll be well on our way to living the way nature intended.

I'm very passionate about my beliefs and hope that my enthusiasm encourages others to question their motives and choices in life. We all make a difference everyday and with each decision (and us stay at home mamas make a lot!) we can promote positive change for us and future generations.

These days I take our two daughters, India (b2000) and Ellia (b2002), to my childhood home to visit with Nana and Papa, Uncle Nate and Auntie Amber, to play in the soil, harvest apples in the fall, catch blue bellied lizards and San Francisco Garter snakes and to just be in nature. At home, day to day, my husband, Arash , and I talk about healthy eating, living a sustainable lifestyle and being nice to your friends and family. We encourage them to be strong, outspoken and responsible. We teach them to question. We drive a hybrid, and they know why. We buy organically grown food, and they know why. We go to the SF Farmer's Market on Alemany, and they know why, but don't care as they're getting free samples :-) The point is, it really doesn't take much effort, but the pay-off is huge. If I can give them what my parents gave me, I will be the happiest woman on earth because, while very beneficial, it's not where I was brought up or what experiences I had, the important sense I came away with was : "I am a part of nature not in control of it."

A special "Thank you" to my husband, Arash. thank you for being so supportive and encouraging. Without you, I wouldn't be the person I am today, nor the person I will be tomorrow. When it's dark you are my candle to guide me home. I love you.