my background As a long time therapist, I have practiced in jails, prisons, and outside communities on two Hawaiian islands, in Bequia, West Indies, in Maine, and via telehealth when traveling. Before and alongside this I have taught yoga, meditation, and whole foods healing. More recently I taught a handful of social work courses to graduate and undergrad students at California State University Los Angeles. I am licensed as a clinical social worker (Hawaii LCSW-3747, Maine LC11622, Florida SW12726). I have an PhD (Interdisciplinary: Social Work, Psychology, Peace Studies, Philosophy) from University of Maine, a Masters in Social Work with mental health specialization from the Universities of Hawaii and Maine, and did my undergraduate studies at Mount Holyoke College, Wesleyan University and University of California. I recently conducted research exploring, and wrote my doctoral dissertation on, interconnectedness, system-wide, in a Maine jail. I am blessed to make a home amidst fields and forests for my huge dog to roam, a home to share with my adult girls and their beloveds whenever possible. I love all facets of my work: counseling, teaching, and writing. And I also am very fed by poetry, artwork, and long, long walks. c c c my bio in haiku form (from "Longbody: my personal model of generalist social work practice in haiku verse." 2006) (Longbody is a Native American concept I learned of long ago; it implies 'self in entirety' -- through history, from past, and into future. One's longbody is one's life path. Here I cannot think of better metaphor for the sweep of experiences and values I bring into and reap from my social work practice. This longbody provides a glimpse of the whole picture which overlays me. And because this metaphor suggests cohesiveness, even simplicity, I want to choose a medium of expression which does the same. Here I offer my personal model of social work practice in the spare poetic form of haiku: three line, five-seven-five syllable, form.) longbody burning ancestral passion to help the oppressed; my longbody, this. at age three home was a tenement; kids played with street danger and died. nineteen sixty five dad worked for black voting rights, chased by southern cops. poverty, racism breed shame, rage, strip dignity; we must make balance. camped in washington to protest mi lai bombing, we joined ten thousand. martin luther king and gandhi roused mass lifeforce, non-aggressively. a minority in grade school, I was teased, beat up, and learned hip dance. rape victim as teen; how to heal that violence in him and in me? the divine in each person, the workable in each situation. deep pain led to drugs and missed opportunity; "i am a loser." yoga and self care brought healing, empowerment; inner peace began. self healing is food from which deep peace can thrive and let loose compassion. in costa rica shipping lords dumped acrid oil; grass roots brought relief. when given to may each sad person give themselves; service is healing. thomaston prison cold room of hard scowls and glares opened with breathing. homeless shelter full of hawaiian clans shoved there by ethnocentrics. in maui's prison we practiced reconnection to roots of spirit. oneness of spirit; rooted commonality of this world's cultures. mental health clinic, pharmaceutically flavored, hierarchy reigned. when we can open to pain, and give away peace, we may not suffer. maine's jails and prisons open to global teachings; new tolerance builds. in each of us is selfishness and empathy, dark and light in all. a social worker, do I walk my talk at home? with respect for all? rocks, rain, people; interrelatedness of all things on this earth. c c c