Q: What is your job at Care and Share, and how long have you worked here?
I’ve been at Care and Share for 2 years. I started out as the part-time SNAP Analyst and am currently the full-time SNAP Coordinator in Colorado Springs.

Q: What did you do before Care and Share?
It’s kind of a long story, but in short, I was a supervisor of foreign English-language teachers in Japan for 2 years. I lived in Japan for 4 years and spent the first 2 as a high school English teacher in Colorado Springs’ sister-city in Japan, but I moved during my final 2 years and worked in my prefecture’s (state) Department of Education office. I found Care and Share a few months after coming back to the U.S. and the rest is history.

Q: What do you like most about working at Care and Share?
The people! I love working with my coworkers, volunteers, and all the people in our community who sign up for SNAP benefits.

Q: Tell us a little about Care and Share’s [Agency Relations, Operations, Programs, etc.] Team. How do you work together to accomplish your goals?
I’m part of the Programs team and am a strong believer in community awareness and access to all of our services, so I’m always promoting our other programs and partner agencies to my SNAP clients. Even though I wish a single program or organization could be the answer to someone’s food insecurity, we all have to work together to get people the food they need and deserve.

Q: What is your favorite holiday memory or tradition?
I’ve gone out to a nice restaurant for dinner with my family on Christmas Eve ever since I can remember, and even though some members of my family have moved around since I was a kid, my husband and I have made this one of our own holiday traditions. After dinner, we wrap presents together (yes, we do it all at the last minute because procrastinating is another family tradition) while watching movies—like Die Hard! 😊