Tell us about yourself!
In Fresno, CA, I learned hockey in the desert heat from a transplanted Minnesotan. I fell in love with the sport and spent an inordinate amount of time shooting pucks in very hot weather. I played ice and inline hockey and then drifted away from the sport until my daughter picked it up. I then began the process of learning all that I had forgotten when I took the sport back up at age 46. I’m a lifelong Islanders fan, because the Golden Seals and Colorado Rockies went under and I’ll root for the Seattle team when they come online. I write about, coach, play, work as an editor for multiple blogs and sites on this great game. I am also a hockey mascot.
What made you want to be a WHL Brand Ambassador?
The mission and passion behind the support of women’s hockey. Women’s Hockey Life is an organization that I have followed for a long while. The mission of promoting, growing and featuring hockey played by women is necessary to grow the sport and inspire the women that play the game. There has been far too much negative exposure from the male-dominated press regarding the game and WHL aims to change that. I am totally on onboard with that mission!
What are you most looking forward to as a #WHLAMBASSADOR?
Interacting with all of my fellow #WHLAMBASSADORs and all supporters of female hockey. Also looking forward to changing the minds of those that think that the female game is a different game. These athletes deserve recognition and livable wages and I hope that we can inspire and attract new fans.
What’s something not a lot of people know about you?
I have a background in drama and creative writing. I am a mascot. I am a skateboarder for life. I am not at all superstitious. Fluent in surf speak, and I love esoteric knowledge for the sake of knowledge.
If you could sit down and have dinner with one female hockey player, who would it be and why?
I have sat down and had a meal with Zoe M. Harris. She was instrumental and inspirational. She is the reason that I am passionate about female hockey and that I work with a youth female hockey organization to grow the game. She was a great college player and worked with the ACHA to create the women’s division. The MVP trophy that the ACHA gives out is the Zoe M. Harris award. She and her partner were also the first female coaches for a men’s college hockey team at the University of Washington in Seattle and they have their items in the US HHOF in Eleveth, MN.
Other than that probably Natalie Spooner or Lyndsey Fry. Both have done so much to grow the game and are incredible players. I have long admired the way that they play the game and both are incredible ambassadors of the game.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given in hockey or in life?
Keep everything in perspective. Whether you succeed or fail, always ask yourself three things:
1. What did I do well?
2. What did I do poorly?
3. How can I improve?
What’s your dream for women’s hockey?
That it will continue to grow and attract new fans and convert fans of the NHL and the men’s game. I hope that in my lifetime the athletes that play the game are paid a living wage or more like their male counterparts. That there is more coverage in media for the game and that the game grows in the right manner to enable longevity.
Interested in becoming a #WHLAMBASSADOR?
