After service in the United States Navy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, I went to law school in the Middle West and then returned to Washington, D.C. to practice communications law.  Leaving the technical side of that field, I focused on libel and defamation law and public employee rights to report wrongdoing in the workplace.  Our Federal employees caretaking the environment were my primary focus through to 2004.  I then returned to Federal service to set up the modern whistleblowing programs for the Defense Department and the Intelligence Community.  The work was exhilarating.  My skills in Federal Employment Law were honed and I picked up new insights as a National Security lawyer focused on oversighting of the security clearance adjudication process, 2004 to 2018. In 2018, I returned to private practice on Connecticut Avenue, using the experience of the previous quarter century to continue helping our Federal workers. Home is Upstate New York, where I came of age at Ithaca, New York and received my collegiate education at Cornell University.  My husband and I live in western Maryland, close to both our families.  In my spare time, I grow tomatoes, cucumbers, a variety of herbs and spices, and green beans. I tend to be a dog-person, but am courteous to cats.