I am excited to become the newest Staff Member at Eastern Carolina Council – as a Certified Fund-Raising Executive - grant writer.  Some time ago I received a BA in English and a MED in Special Education.  Soon thereafter, I taught Freshmen English at several community colleges and was asked by a private university and a rural hospital system (aligned with the Maryland state university system) to become their freelancing grant writer.  In 1994 after developing a business plan I launched my own fund-raising business for 9 counties of the Eastern Shore of MD and worked with a 4-county council of governments.  I continued to teach writing at community colleges and added grant writing for all interested institutions, predominantly colleges/universities and non-profits.  As the Great Recession began, I moved to South Carolina with my younger child, and thus began a different life.  I responded to the call to go to seminary and serve and was privileged to serve as a missionary and English college instructor until the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.  And finally, in 2022 I returned to grant writing and combined all 3 careers – to be of more service to residents of Eastern Carolina and now, to all for whom the Eastern Carolina Council operates.