Traveler

For all my studies and travels, the most enjoyable way I’ve found to explore another culture is through their cuisine. My favorite cookbook is the New York Times Cooking section, I’m happy to share my recipe box with you!

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Scenes from my cooking lession with Senja Klementti in her lovely home. What a great day learning to make a three course meal – a traditionally simple salad; smoked reindeer soup (porokeitto); large, open-faced salmon tarts (lohikukko); and creamy lingonberry & semolina porridge (vispipuuro) for dessert. . The kitchen was full of wonderfull scents and a lot of laughter. After the meal we joined Senja, her husband Olli Pälvimäki, their son Elias, and our friends Jari and Satu who arranged the whole thing, to enjoy a dip in the lake, after dinner drinks, and of course a midsummer sauna. I have to give my husband @jorma_nyc major props for being the best Instagram boyfriend EVER! Paljon kiitos jokainen! ???? . #suomalainenruoka #thisismyfinland #thisisfinland #thenordicmood #discoverfinland #loves_finland #visitfinland #thebestoffinland #finland #ig_europe #igscandinavia #citizenoftheworld #travelwithme #globetrotter #globetrotting #worldtraveler #worldcapture #passportlife #travelbucketlist #hardlyhome #worldtraveller #travelinspiration #pride #gaytravel #instagay

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Education/Experience

The New School University
New York, 2004

Masters of Arts in International Affairs, focusing on media management, including: 

  • 2-week intersession class in Ghana 
  • One month of thesis research in Brazil 
ETC – Language School
Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, 1994-1995

Instructor/English Language consultant, teaching a variety of skill levels and providing translation assistance.

World Bank
Washington, DC, 1993-1994

At the Office of the Director of the Africa Region Technical Department, ​I provided graphics and documentation for presentations in English and French; edited and desktop-published departmental documents; managed executive travel arrangements and helped to raise over $15,000 for the United Way. 

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I learned of the women’s collective who produced organic oil from our hosts at our riad. The #argania_spinosa tree – #argan, for everyone else – only grows in the Sous Valley of Morocco, between Marrakech and the old Spanish port city of Essouria. It has become a valuable commodity for Western cosmetics that provides income for the women in the area. . The trees themselves can live up to 200 years. The fruit they bear is first dried, then roasted, before being ground into a paste to extract the valuable oil. Depending on the preparation of the oil, it is used both for culinary and apotheticary reasons. To taste, it has a rich, nutty flavor, like deep roasted almonds. As a salve, it tends to acne, psoriasis, and other skin conditions. . Oddly enough, the bounty and income this native resource brings into the community has a negative feedback loop in the form of argan trees filled with goats. As incomes rise, people can invest in more livestock, so they buy more goats. But the goats eat the fruit of the argan trees at a critical stage in their reproductive cycle … and you know how that goes. . https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argania . http://blogs.worldbank.org/youthink/women-entrepreneurship-morocco-win-win-struggle . #jormaandmike2019 #jormaandmike #lifeonlaiffii #ig_morrocco #PardeePride #citizenoftheworld #travelwithme #globetrotter #globetrotting #worldtraveler #worldcapture #passportlife #travelbucketlist #hardlyhome #worldtraveller #travelinspiration #pride #gaytravel #instagay

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​Boston University, Pardee School of Global Studies
Boston, MA, 1992

Bachelors of Arts in International Relations, focusing on French, German and European Union integration 

  • Paris Internship Program – language study abroad semester, with internship at Gamma Presse Image.