Before real estate I enjoyed two other careers. After receiving my B.A. degree at U.C.S.B. and a California Lifetime Teaching Credential at U.C. Berkeley, I moved into the La Morinda area and spent the next 16 years teaching fourth and fifth grades in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. During this time, I was married and had a son, Sean. Driven by my passion to train and show Arabian horses, my husband and I purchased a horse ranch in Lafayette in 1981. For the next 23 years we developed a community oriented Equestrian Center where horse boarding and training along with riding lessons, summer day camps and birthday parties enriched the lives of families in the neighboring communities. Upon the sale of the ranch I continued on for one year, as the manager, to help the new owners learn the business. While transitioning into real estate I began investing in single family homes and multiple unit properties.