Chris is a retired elementary school teacher with a lifelong passion of connecting kids to nature. While working in the Ashland school system, she has brought numerous school classes to the Willow-Witt Ranch over the years to let the young learners observe, explore and discover what a dynamic working farm is.
In her own childhood, annual treks to a remote lake in the High Sierras and time at her grandparents’ cabin near Big Basin, shaped her values and sense of place and many life decisions can be traced to these trips. In college, Chris graduated with a degree in Environmental Design that drew on studies from UC Davis and UC Berkeley.
Chris moved to the backwoods of Montana after college, at the beginning of her teaching career. In raising her four children, Chris learned that while they might proclaim a resistance to salad and vegetables on the table, in the garden they would shell peas and taste so much more. There were years of delight in finding a strawberry turning red or the discovery that carrots hid beneath the earth. Chris moved to the Rogue Valley with her children for the schools and for the sense of place. She has seen children discover their own special places while caring for school gardens. Chris believes that it is of critical importance to provide opportunities for all ages to play and learn outside, to grow in knowledge and deepen our respect for nature. And she is excited to be a part of the Board for The Crest furthering the mission of connecting nature and people.