User:Cindamuse

You wanna know some things about me? Okay, here goes. Buckle up, baby! My name is Girly, but you can call me Super Girly. Princess will do in a pinch. You've probably heard of me. According to some folks on Wikipedia, I'm trouble. Tell me about it, stud! I crave worldwide domination and long to become the most googled person in the world. People say I look like the love child of Drew Carey and Nicole Kidman. (If they had a love child.) I agree. As far as personality, I'm told mine is a mix of Sydney Bristow and Dane Cook, with a little ditzy Phoebe Buffay mixed in. Other than that, I'm a pretty normal chick. (Emphasis on pretty... far from normal.)

My creative side includes fine art encompassing sculpture, pottery, and creative drawing, as well as writing songs, short stories, and poetry. I play several instruments, including a mean conga. If you went to a Jimmy Buffett concert during the 80s and 90s, you may have seen me in the background slapping the tams. Throughout my life, you may have also found me on stage in a regional theatre production, in Saturday morning children's television, or off in a corner writing a song or a new line of poetry. My passion is writing. I've written a newspaper column, ghostwritten three books, and now working on a travel memoir, while contemplating the next Great American novel. I call it multitasking.

I love to go to the mountains (Rockies) and I enjoy whitewater rafting and high mountain climbing. I love to travel. Anything from weekend road trips to Europe and the South Pacific. So far, my favorite place on earth is an uninhabited island off of Nassau in the Caribbean. A week with my hammock, my besties, scuba gear, barbeques, and lotsa drinks ::hic::. My dreams and lifelong plans have always included visiting either Italy or France. Museums, mountains, and small country cafes. Ah. In reality, I'm just another hippy on the beach. In my dreams, I'm in the south of France.

My name is Cindy and I live in the Pacific Northwest. My professional background is quite varied, having worked in human resources (corporate training and organizational development); business management/nonprofit development; publishing; and state government (program development, process improvement, employment development, and Unemployment Insurance arbitrator). I've worked in both the public and private sectors, i.e., government and manufacturing industry. I have also served and continue to serve on the board of directors of various local and national nonprofit organizations.

My early education through high school was focused on fine art and music performance. At about age five, I began appearing in children's Saturday morning television programs, either spinning the barrel on Dialing for Dollars or appearing on The Captain Cy Show, singing on Sunday School of the Air, or tap dancing on Starlit Stairway. I still enjoy participating in regional theatrical productions. After high school, I earned a degree in Fine Art and Film Communications. After graduation, I worked at the Cheney Cowles Museum, then spent some time living and working in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Whitewater rafting and climbing the Grand with the Exum Mountain Guides.

After sowing my wild granola in Wyoming, I went back to school and studied Tourism/Hotel Management, with an emphasis in Marketing and Public Relations. I was totally undecided with what I wanted to do with my life. Really, I think I just didn't want to grow up. Then, I began working for the City of Spokane, on staff at the civic entertainment facilities and totally loved it. The local Opera House and Performing Arts Center and the sports arena became my second home. My work focused on marketing events; overseeing hospitality riders; assisting promoters and managers; and resolving public disputes during events. Perks? Attending hundreds and hundreds of concerts, along with off-Broadway plays, symphonies, and hockey games. To this day, I love watching a good hockey game.

I'm a California native, born in Orange County. In the 80s, I moved to the South Bay area and spent the next 20 years working in human resources, corporate training (soft skills), and organizational development. My areas of expertise include facilitating Train the Trainer, Statistical Process Control (SPC), Total Quality Management, Six Sigma, Leadership Development, and Self-Directed Work Team courses. Overall, I have worked primarily in the nonprofit sector, manufacturing industry (computers and electronics), state government, and publishing. During my career, I have been recognized for my work in quality management with Solectron Corporation, serving as a key stakeholder and team member in pursuing and achieving the US Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the California Governor's Golden State Quality Award.

My work in state government included research analysis, strategic planning, and program development in support of the Employment Security Division and Department of Social and Health Services. I served as a Job Service Specialist, Unemployment Insurance Arbitrator, Mental Health Commissioner, and member of the Mental Health Transformation Project. My professional focus with the Mental Health Division included working with programs in support of older adults, victims of domestic violence, and women transitioning into the workplace. I enjoyed assisting in writing the State's Community Development Block Grant application, which encompassed recommending program eliminations, expansions, and/or modifications for consideration by the Division and State Legislature. In 2007, I was honored by Governor Christine Gregoire and the State of Washington for the advocacy of collaborative (open-source) governance and the successful development of internal and external programs, which have served to enhance the lives of local, regional, and statewide citizens.

For the most part (beyond Wikipedia), I enjoy volunteering with local community organizations. I also work with a couple of literary groups based out of the Pacific Northwest and assist with pursuing acquisitions; developing book proposals; reading, writing, editing, and ghosting various projects. As a freelance writer, the majority of my work focuses on writing biographies and business/technical documentation. Outside of Wikipedia, I spend quite a bit of time writing biographies and working to address issues involving pornography and the sex industry. However, I rarely allow these two worlds to cross over. Too much stress. I use Wikipedia to escape. That's just the way I roll.

I am an eighth generation abolitionist. My family has worked to abolish slavery in America in one form or another for over 200 years. Prominent members of the family include Thomas Garrett, Susan B. Anthony, and her brother, Daniel Read Anthony. Carrying on this legacy, I am committed to abolishing modern-day slavery in the form of human sex trafficking. To that end, I have provided professional consulting services for newly established and developing nonprofit abolitionist organizations for over ten years, primarily focusing on educating communities and governmental officials of the realities of domestic sex trafficking and modern-day slavery. In 1999, I was honored by the City of Spokane for the development of programs to assist women transitioning out of the sex industry and/or domestic violence situations. I continue to work in an advocacy role and speak on behalf of a global NGO addressing gender equality, human trafficking, and social reform. In 2000, I established an international organization and network of safe houses and support resources for women and children escaping or transitioning out of human trafficking from throughout Southern and Southeast Asia, Western Europe, and North America. A modern-day underground railroad, of sorts.

My community involvement and volunteer work additionally includes membership in the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, focusing on historical preservation and documenting the history and involvement of women in establishing the independence of the United States. As a certified genealogist and family historian, I have served as the founder of the Ashley Family Association, as well as a consultant to the Cooper Surname DNA Project. I am related to the Ashley-Cooper family of East Dorset and Hampshire in England. Throughout my adult life, I have often found myself lending support and expertise to various Ashley and Cooper historical research studies.

My 10th great grandfather was Sir John Popham. Rather notorious. He was Lord Chief Justice of England and presided over the trial of the Catholic martyr, Robert Southwell and passed sentence of death by hanging, drawing and quartering. He also presided over the trials of Mary, Queen of Scots, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Guy Fawkes, sentencing Mary and Fawkes to death. According to local legend, John was killed by being thrown from his horse into Popham's Pit on the Blackdown Hills, dying horribly and descending to hell. His name is engraved on his wife's gravestone in the nearby Wellington Church. However, according to legend, his body doesn't lie there. Every New Year's Eve his ghost is supposed to emerge from Popham's Pit and take "one cock's step" closer to the grave. Until he has reached it, legend says that his soul will not rest in peace.

I'm his legacy. Prepare to die.