I was born in Astoria, Queens, NYC. My parents bought a house out in the suburbs on Long Island, NY when I was 4. I grew up there. My childhood was mostly normal middle class, nothing out of the ordinary. I never played sports in school. I was more of a loner and a bit of a nerd and couldn't connect with the jocks in school. I had always liked working with plants and decided to go to school to study Horticulture. I attended the State University of New York at Farmingdale, and received my AAS degree in Ornamental Horticulture in 1982. I worked at many nurseries and garden centers after graduation. I was always in a retail setting.

It was in my late teens and early twenties that I began to feel ‘different’. What did that mean? I didn't know. I knew that I didn't like very masculine things or was able to connect with males in any meaningful way. Male friendships, mentors or coworkers just didn't work. I always was more comfortable around females. But, I was born male and so I figured that I would follow the role that life had dealt me. I dated a few woman, got married in 1992, moved to Milford MA in 1995, worked in Boston in retail clothing for a few years. In 1997, my wife and I separated and divorced in 2001. It was the first time I had lived alone on my own. I was adrift. I was wearing a mask during the day of being male, but knew inside that I had a strong feminine side, but didn't know what that meant.

I married again in 2004, moved to Ashby, MA and continued to play the role and wear the mask, all the while feeling ‘different’. I had gone back to working in garden centers by 1998 and enjoyed it. We moved to Jaffrey in 2006, and finally bought a home in Rindge in 2014. All during these years, I continued to struggle with confusion around my strong feminine feelings. In 2018, I wanted to make a major work change and went to work at the Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene.

Working at the Coop was my watershed moment of opening my eyes to people of different sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. It was during a staff meeting that the HR department presented a training on diversity and inclusiveness of all people and the acceptance of them working at the Coop. When they got to the example of being Transgender, my mouth hung open and I couldn't believe that I worked for a company that openly embraced this. I began see what had been so elusive for me for so many decades. I was Transgender. I began working with fantastic gender specialist therapist in early 2022. I began to understand what I was feeling, why I was feeling this way and how to work through my thoughts and feelings. In the fall of 2022, my path was clear and I decided to start my social and medical transition from male to female. I started hormone therapy in 2023 and a world of new opportunities, friendship and activities began unfolding before me. The Coop has been wonderful. I am currently the Produce Department Buyer and Merchandiser and love what I do. I have become active with a local Burlesque Troupe and look forward to my first public performance this year. The burlesque community is a wonderful family of unique people and I am becoming part of that family. I became interested in working with Keene Pride late in 2023, applied and was elected to the board in February 2024. My life continues to unfold in new and wonderful ways. My transition journey continues and I am the happiest I have been in decades. I look forward to helping Keene Pride fulfill their mission and goals. In short, “I have found my people, I have found my tribe”