A: I grew up in Savannah. I went to Calvary from K-12 before going to UGA for undergrad, where I was an English major. Then I went to Mercer in Macon for law school. By the time I got to Macon, I couldn’t wait to get back home. I got a job at a Savannah law firm and my sister, who was an art teacher at Richmond Hill Elementary, talked me into moving to Richmond Hill. We moved right down the street from her in 2001, and we’ve been here ever since.

A: I did a lot of medical malpractice defense work in Savannah. I touched a little bit on real estate, and that’s when I really started to like the real estate practice. Some of the people there knew Michelle Henderson (now her partner), and they didn’t have a big residential real estate practice there. Plus I wanted to get closer to home, so I got in touch with Michelle and I’ve been here ever since.

Q: Has the real estate decline affected your business?

A: A large majority of my practice is real estate, but I still do a good bit of probate and business law as well as litigation. Where the real estate really has slowed down a bit, the other departments haven’t slowed down at all. Definitely the commercial side of Richmond Hill is still growing rapidly, so that keeps me busy.

Q: Do you enjoy what you do?

A: Oh yeah. The thing I enjoy the most about it is getting to meet so many people. Richmond Hill just has so many wonderful people here. Being a real estate closing attorney, I get to introduce people to Richmond Hill.

Q: When you’re not practicing law, what do you like to do?

A: I do a lot of dancing with Richmond Hill Dance Theater, which is non-profit dance company that got started by Teresa Merritt at Life Moves in Richmond Hill. We’ve done Scrooge and Nutcracker. Dancing is a way for me to relax and forget everything else. I’ve been dancing my whole life, but I stopped when I went to college. I went back to it after 11 years. I took Carly in to sign her up, and that’s when I started back. I’ve even got my husband to do ballroom dancing with me, so it’s something we can all do together. We were in Nutcracker together.

Q: What else do you like to do?

A: I’m a dance coach for my daughter’s rec cheerleading squad, which is a lot of fun, and I just took over as Chairman of the Richmond Hill Convention and Visitors Bureau. The CVB is a way for me to give back to the community. I’m also heading up the Junior Rotarian program for the Richmond Hill Rotary Club as well as a board member for Arts on the Coast.

Q: What do you like about living in Richmond Hill and Bryan County?

A: It’s such a welcoming community. With all the rapid growth, many of its residents are relatively new here. In a way, Richmond Hill is a small town with having that ‘outsider’ feel to it for newcomers. We have a lot of support here for the military here too, which is great. There’s a lot of history here as well, even though a lot of people don’t realize it.

Q: If you could change one thing about Richmond Hill, what would it be?

A: I wish I could have more people appreciate the arts here. Part of that is that we don’t have a very good theater here to showcase. But hopefully that will happen with the proposed arts center in the works.

Q: What is your favorite movie?

A: My favorite book and movie is "Memoirs of a Geisha." The movie depicted the book very well, which is one of my pet peeves as an English major.

Q: What is your favorite television show?

A: Of course, American Idol. People come in here during closings all the time and we’ll start talking about it. It’s the great connector. Ironically, I miss "Dancing with the Stars" because I’m at ballroom class or I’m sure I’d love that show.

Q: Do you have a favorite vacation spot?

A: My husband and I just took another cruise to the Bahamas, where we spent our honeymoon ten years ago. We like to visit Amelia Island whenever we have the opportunity.