Welcome to NYC!

I have been a New York City resident for 25 years, the last 20 in midtown Manhattan.  I first visited New York in 1978 to fulfill my dream of showing horses at the National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden.  (I am originally from Kansas City, MO, and have been an avid equestrian all my life. I currently keep a horse and ride in Fairfield, CT and Westchester, NY counties just to the north of the city whenever possible. Hence the interest in all things equestrian in New York! I include a horse reference on every tour.)  I felt an instant connection to the city from the time my parents and I got into a NYC taxicab at LaGuardia, and the driver began to explain the five boroughs as we drove through the Midtown Tunnel to the Pennsylvania Hotel. The next morning, as I stood on 33rd street near Eighth Ave at the bottom of the entrance ramp to MSG with a six-year-old Thoroughbred show horse watching regular New Yorkers stand in line for bagels, I told my father I was going to live in New York one day.  After earning a BFA in fine arts from Ringling College of Arts and Design in Florida, I headed north and landed in the museum profession. 

Like all newbies to the City I began touring the sights, museums, neighborhoods, attending concerts, events, sports, theater, performing arts, and “City Tourist” became a hobby.  Deep attachments developed, and the hobby became daily practice. Soon I was taking visiting friends and family on tours -- they loved it, I loved it!  My tours became more organized, elaborate, detailed, efficient, economical, and more popular.  Over the years, a new career was founded.

I have always worked in creative environments, with other people and for the benefit of people.  I enjoy teaching and mentoring people of all ages and capabilities. In the past, these needs have led me to work in the non-profit sector.  I need to feel that I am doing something to serve in order to be dedicated about doing it for a living, at the same time it has to be personally stimulating. New York City Tourist Guide fills the bill.

I am recently retired from a fulfilling career as a museum educator and curator in art, history and natural history museum settings where I developed a love of learning, sharing and creating memories.  I have studied and lectured on a variety topics in arts, history, sports, nature and reveled in the research as much as in sharing it with the public. I became and remain committed to teaching people of all ages, backgrounds, and interests. 

My museum education philosophy translates to my tourist guide practice. I am passionate about New York and confident in my ability to connect historical, contemporary, natural, and creative aspects, which stems from my delight in sharing the City’s complex history and ecosystem with visitors.  My tours are based on solid and active research, other tours, and personal experiences.  I have extensive background in adult and student engagement and training and can deliver meaningful tours with wit, humor and fun. I am a New York City DCA Licensed Sightseeing Guide with an exemplary score on the official exam http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/downloads/pdf/sightseeing_guides.pdf  and an active member of the Guides Association of New York City, www.GANYC.org. 

New York --- Always something interesting and new, even when looking at something old. This city encompasses cutting-edge contemporary people, places and happenings juxtaposed with historical figures, sites and events, incredible diversity and creative energy.  There’s just no place else quite like it. I promise you great memories in the greatest city on Earth.