Occupation: I was a registered nurse for 20 years in New York, and worked after that with pharmaceutical companies on developing and monitoring clinical trials. I moved up here from Manhattan to work for one of them. Now I’m out of the medical field, though, and am a professional organizer. My business is called Creating Solutions and I provide a very broad service. I use my skills to work with people in homes or offices, to organize.

Family: My brother and his wife, my two nieces, and my mother are all out in California now. I have a lot of family in the New York area, but I have made so many good friends here that my friends are my family.

Pets: I have a cat called Fritzie, who came out of the woods behind my house. He really was not a feral cat, I think he was just a lost cat. He came twice a day and eventually I added him to the family. I had three other cats at the time. Two years ago, my Lab mix, King, came to us. I adopted him from a client who was relocating. He’s been a great companion.

How long have you lived in Newtown? I moved here in February of 2002, so it’s been 10½ years.

What do you like to do in your free time? Depending on the season, I bike, I hike, and I’ve picked up cross-country skiing. I do oil painting, mostly landscapes and figurative abstracts. I like to go to auctions and tag sales, and I collect vintage jewelry. I love to dance. I’ve connected with a lot of people who are into music and one of them always seems to have a gig somewhere, so that’s become a big part of my life. I do read, in spurts, and I joined the Newtown Visiting Nurse Association about seven years ago.

What type of music do you listen to? I’m all over the spectrum: blue grass, R&B, swing, classical. The only thing I don’t get into is rap and hard rock. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? I have traveled for years, ever since I became a nurse. I’ve been to Eastern Europe, to Japan, to China. I was in China before it became “Americanized.” My favorite, though? I could go to Italy again and again. It’s the lifestyle of the people there that I love. They live life and enjoy life. It’s very beautiful, too, but it’s who is around you.

What is the best thing about Newtown? For me, getting out of Manhattan, even though I loved the art and music there, I craved the open spaces and the green. What I love about Newtown is that it’s not a cultural wasteland. It’s a beautiful place, and a very therapeutic place. And I love all of the wildlife in Newtown, too. The environment and the people I’ve met are the best. When I first moved in to Newtown, I met Mary Fellows at The Little Green Barn in Sandy Hook Center. She saw my artwork and said she would give me a show in her space. So I had a show and a little opening night, and that was a nice moment!

Who has been the greatest influence in your life? My parents always let me know they would support me in anything I wanted to do. My dad was handy, too, and I would watch him and work with him when he was fixing something, so it led to a type of independence. I also had an art teacher who helped me understand art and looking at things, and who brought out the best in me of what I could do.

Do you have a personal philosophy? People need to follow their passions. Whatever you do, you should give it your all. The other thing is to have integrity and empathy for others.

Do you have a guilty pleasure? I can eat a whole loaf of good bread by myself! The variety and really good bread I could get anywhere in Manhattan is the one thing I miss.