Core Support Team

Robin has lived on Bainbridge Island for 18 years and has worked and volunteered for nonprofits her entire professional life. She has an English degree, as well as a Masters in adult education, and has been an instructor in Motheread/Fatheread, a national family literacy program. Her fulltime (i.e. paying) job is as program manager/registrar for the Center for Courage & Renewal. Robin’s passion is writing, and she has one unfinished middle-grade novel and numerous picture books in various stages of production. She is currently working on a series of essays dealing with grief, loss, and gratitude.

Lin graduated with a degree in Fine Art from Indiana University, and worked for an advertising agency before establishing a freelance graphic design business. A self-motivator in several arts fields, she has exhibited paintings, written an arts Q&A newspaper column, and recently completed her first novel. Lin served for several years as Field End’s Class Coordinator before “retiring” to join the Core Support Team.

Becky grew up on Bainbridge Island, graduated from Western Washington University with a degree in journalism, and worked in daily and community newspapers for 25 years, during which time she wrote about everything from the Hillside Strangler to county fairs. She then jumped to the World Wide Web, witnessing the demise of four dot-coms in three years and amassing a box full of worthless stock options. After a four-year stint at Expedia.com, she quit the commute and the 20,000 hotel descriptions for the Marketing Department at Town & Country Markets Inc. Becky was the author of a long-running column, “Letters Home,” in the Bainbridge Review and Kitsap Sun Islander. She also raised two amazing daughters.

Cara has lived on Bainbridge Island since 2008, having moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to be closer to family and enjoy the Pacific Northwest region. She has a professional editing certificate from UC Berkeley Extension. Cara will apply her skills to copyediting the Field’s End website, monthly e-newsletter, and print materials. A graduate of Sonoma State with a BA in Geography in 1994, Cara currently works full time in Seattle as an executive assistant, which includes editing business publications and web content. She enjoys reading, copyediting, knitting, painting, and hiking.

Wendy graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.B.A. and a Doctorate of Jurisprudence. After living in Texas, California and Alaska, she came to Bainbridge Island and eventually began blogging in 2006. Her writings and photography have been published locally and online at her site, Let The Dog In!, as well as the Seattle P-I, Kitsap Sun, BlogHer, and Seattle Mom Blogs sites. She has several adult and children’s projects in progress, and her comedic one-act play was produced and performed at the Bainbridge Performing Arts’ Evening of New Works in spring 2011. Never far from an online connection, Wendy can be found blogging and tweeting (and occasionally helping her dog tweet). She also administers the Field’s End Facebook group and other social media communications.

Cathy is a recent transplant to Bainbridge Island from the Santa Cruz Mountains of California where she raised two children, pastored a small church, wrote, and led writing workshops. She is certified as an Amherst Writers and Artists leader and holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Seattle Pacific University. Cathy’s writing has appeared in literary journals and several anthologies, most recently Archipelago. With her husband, Kevin, Cathy is remodeling a mid-century house to include a retreat for writers. She also blogs about her midlife transition and spirituality. www.cathywarner.com

Elsa is a native Washingtonian who loves getting to know the writers of Bainbridge Island. She graduated from Carleton College with a degree in classical languages, spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer with her husband in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, and now works at the West Sound Wildlife Shelter. Elsa is the author of Maid Marian (2004), forthcoming novels Dog Days (2012) and The Love Dog (2013), and a short story in the anthology Penumbra (2011). She has deep appreciation for the mission of Field’s End, creating a community for writers on Bainbridge. www.elsawatson.net

Hilda Wiens completed a career teaching high school English and French and began a second career as a librarian. She served in that capacity, at all levels of education, including the State Center Community College system. In 1996, Hilda was named California’s School Library Media Teacher of the Year. Hilda came to Bainbridge Island two years ago and has embraced her new community with a passion. She is an active member of the Unitarian Church, an avid beginning knitter, and a library volunteer. Hilda looks forward to working with the Core Support Team of Field’s End. She continues to study French for her frequent trips to France. She and her husband, John, live in a multi-generational housing experiment with her daughter, her son-in-law, and two grandsons.