Denise began wood turning several years ago.
She always loved the look and feel of beautiful wood, cared for tenderly. As a result of a personal tragedy in her life, she took up wood turning as a challenge, creative outlet, and a means by which to regain focus and concentration. She is grateful to the local chapter members of the American Woodturners Association who encouraged, supported, and who patiently cheered her on. Many hours have been spent in the shops of Jerry Johnson and John Clarke, both of whom she respects deeply and who willingly gave of their time and resources to watch a fledgling begin. She owes them a debt of gratitude. She acknowledges being a beginner with a great deal to learn, and hopes to learn more and contribute to the learning of others. Wood turning for her is more than an art form.

Denise finds wood turning as a release, a source of comfort, inspiration, challenge, stimulation, and indeed, sometimes frustration. She finds the learning process to be often thrilling, exponential, and a steep climb. The demands of both the physical and mental aspects of wood turning are valuable to Denise. She is mindful that it is not frivolous, while containing a great deal of pleasure, but also carries with it a requirement for being fully "body" aware. As Denise holds up 10 intact fingers she laughs, and is quick to caution those who may visit her shop that it is not an endeavor for the foolhardy, but requires caution and appropriate safety precautions.

People who know her wonder if, or when she sleeps. Denise works fulltime as a human factors engineer - ergonomist. She has worked in many types of facilities, primarily manufacturing and government - actually all over the world, but predominately in the United States. Presently, Denise can be found in south western Ohio. She earned her PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, with her dissertation relative to the Aging Workforce and Safety and Health.

Her hobbies and other activities include: boating - power and sailing, wood turning, camping, snow and water skiing, scuba diving, volksmarching, golf, ballroom dancing, gourmet cooking, theater, jazz and blues, as well as old rock n' roll. She won the ping-pong championship in undergraduate school. She is very active in the community and serves on several boards as well as volunteering for a number of charitable and nonprofit organizations and causes. For example, through her Rotary club, she volunteered at the YMCA camp where she built bunk beds and picnic tables; has delivered "Meals On Wheels" for shut-in elderly citizens and coordinates activities (e.g., awards banquets etc.) for Partners in Reading. She also did volunteer work for the Heritage Theatre as well as the San Jose Chamber Music Society, where she was recently recognized for her contributions. In addition of being an avid fish hobbyist, she adopts very large breed dogs (Great Pyrenees) and belongs to the Great Pyrenees Society.

Until her recent assignment in Washington, Denise was a docent (Interpretative Naturalist) at California's Ano Nuevo State Reserve introducing the public to the unique aspects of the Reserve, including: the geology, archaeology, history, marine and terrestrial wild life, especially the elephant seals as well as marine and terrestrial birds and the flora and fauna. For the last 20 years, she has traveled extensively coast-to-coast and border-to-border in 32 states and worked in 30% of the nuclear plants in the USA. Her international travel experiences in Austria, Israel, South Korea, Taiwan Singapore, Hong Kong and Mainland China as well as Canada and Mexico - have given her a deep appreciation for cultural richness. Her professional website is http://www.ergowhat.com