Family: My husband of 38 years, and I have three kids, Brianna, Cameron and Courtney.

How did you meet your husband? At school, on spring break.

How long have you lived in Newtown? 30 years.

Work: I am currently retired, but I do a lot of volunteer work for a nonprofit.

What clubs, organizations and/or communities of faith are you part of? We live part of the year in Florida, on the barrier islands, so I’m focused on preserving that environment for manatees, all the beautiful birds, and everything else, with Conservancy Friends of Aquarina. I’m in a golf club and I also volunteer for the HOA we live within. I know they get bad raps, but the one we’ve found, I love it and I do their social media and advertising. It’s a great neighborhood, and everyone volunteers in some capacity.

What do you like to do with your free time? Art. I was doing crafts for years, and I was an art educator. Now that I’m semi-retired I’m getting to paint and working with fine arts. I also have 320 pages of a book written and I’m just trying to figure out how to get it published.

What is the most recent book you’ve read? The Magnolia Palace, which got me very interested in seeing The Frick Collection in New York. I’m huge into historical fiction, and there’s some really great authors who tie their stories in with the real thing. I love reading and then tying that in with a place I’m traveling to.

Favorite author? Deborah Harkness. She’s very prolific and she’s a professor of history, so she’s really got that historical-educational tie in.

What is your proudest achievement? Raising three children. I thank God they didn’t have social media when they were younger. They played soccer and were outside so much.

Favorite food? I love enchilada suizas.

Favorite color? Fuchsia.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? This goes back to my dad, who would tell me “Pay attention to your emotional, spiritual and physical life. You’ve got to pay attention to all of it. All of those things make a whole person.” You notice none of that says work.

Favorite travel destination? Barcelona was amazing. I know they’re having tourism issues, but just to go and see everything Gaudí ever did was amazing.

We had been there when Basilica de la Sagrada Família seemed more like an excavation than an actual place. It seemed like an old place that was being excavated, not like it was being built this whole time. The last time we went, there was stained glass everywhere. The scope of it is beyond comprehension, and the difference between it looking like a dig to a functioning cathedral was beautiful.

What is your favorite thing about Newtown? The community. I love things like Buy Nothing Newtown. I love that even though it’s a large town, you’ll run into people at Stop & Shop and you’ll know and catch up with them, even after long times. Or you meet people unexpectedly. I met one of my neighbors at the farmers market — Natalie and David and their Wonderland Jams.

Do you have a personal credo? No surface is safe. (Laughs) Everything can be altered and messed with and I can have fun with it.