Nancy spent her earlier years in Chicago and the Midwest. She earned a BA in Anthropology from Beloit College. In the 80’s, she moved to Tucson, Arizona for graduate school, and decided to make it her home. She has worked in a variety of roles in healthcare for the past 30 years. She took a prolonged sabbatical from the parochial school Catholicism of her youth, returning enriched by vipassana Buddhism, Benedictine monastic traditions, early and present-day Christian mystics, and the practices of centering and contemplative prayer.