Occupation: Writer, Farmer, Big Mama.

Place of Residence:  Eugene, Oregon

Background and Personal History:

When presented with the opportunity to create her own livelihood from the ground-up two years ago, Anna chose something rather different than her professional background and academic training would seem to have prepared her for: farming.

After working in legislative advocacy and as a Congressional aide, and later receiving her MA in Religion from Yale University and becoming a university campus minister, Anna became a mother. Becoming a mother turned Anna’s life upside-down (in her case, a good thing) and plunged her into a multi-year discernment of her authentic path, both vocational and spiritual.

What would you enjoy doing so much that you would do it for free? For Anna, the answer was to grow berries, apples, eggs, and honey on 14 acres just outside of Eugene, Oregon, at what is now her family’s LunaSol Farm.

No longer a practitioner of any particular religious path, but a devotee of the wisdom found in the world’s spiritual traditions, Anna’s unique brand of political advocacy and ecological ministry incorporates plentiful time outside, regular doses of soil under the fingernails, domestic arts like canning and yogurt-making, playing with kids in nature, and caring for an expanding cast of critters on her family’s farm.

Besides farming, Anna is an aspiring writer who focuses on the intersection of daily life (starting a small farm and parenting to name two), spiritual growth, and social change. She writes Big Mama’s Blog at her LunaSol Farm’s website, www.LunaSolFarm.com, and has a Facebook page, Facebook.com/LunaSolFarm.

Current Projects: Growing LunaSol Farm, and writing Big Mama’s blog and starting a book.

Other Fun Facts:  I volunteer monthly to help female inmates in prison gain access to legal representation through the Portia Project, www.ThePortiaProject.org