Here's the nutshell:

Me? While I'm plenty capable all by myself, I love being part of a team. While I'm hardworking and determined, I love to kick back and chill out. While I've lived in some very rarefied circles, at heart I'm just a down to earth girl who loves a simple dinner surrounded by friends and filled with laughter. I'm caring, playful, smart, quick-witted, and curious.

Favorite things? Music of all kinds, reading, kids, the ocean, high heels, hard work, good wine, physical activity, conversation, dancing, road trips and asking questions. Love good food - I don't much like to cook, but if you do, I'm a great fan.

You? Trustworthy, athletic, dependable, lively, self-sufficient, open-minded, active, and considerate are high on my "hope-to-find" list. I hope you relish the choices you make (whether in work, family, friends, activities, commitments). I hope there's lots that you love and I hope that life makes you laugh every day.

Why now? I've been through enough struggles to know that we need to grab happiness with both hands. My work is satisfying, my kids are closer to grown, I'm fit and healthy, and I have so much energy for laughing.... So there's a lot to share.

To most people I look like a straight-up white girl, but I'm mixed race and identify that way; my family is all ethnicities and I'm comfortable with all kinds of cultural environments.

So, what about you? Every relationship starts with a happy accident, a chance offered and taken. My favorite word is "serendipity." Shall we take that little leap and see what we might find?

I own my own small consulting business, working with nonprofit organizations and their partners to work for social justice in our community.

I started the company in 2001, after I finished graduate school and decided that I wanted to use my education for something better than working on Wall Street making rich people richer (which had been my career for a while). Never regretted the decision.

On the physical plane: I've been athletic my whole life (my first career was as a professional ballet dancer) and I still go to boot camp almost every day. But I'm not really a gym rat; it's just that I like the sweat, the challenge, and the camaraderie (and yes, what it does for my legs is OK, too). So using my body every day, taking advantage of its strength and capacity, is really important to me.

On all other planes? I'm good at thinking, writing, finding consensus, finding my kids' missing shoes, laughing, reading, teasing out complicated issues to see what's at the heart, asking questions, being curious, forging alliances, finding common ground, and walking well in very high heels.

Physical first impressions? Well, I'm 5'9" and I like heels, so people usually notice the height (and the heels). After that, maybe the eyes. Or the legs.

Temperamental first impressions? I'm verbal and I care about connections, so I'm a pretty active participant (as listener or talker) in conversations.

I'm a happy omnivore (being a ballet dancer instills huge appreciation for food): I love the bounty that is Northern California cuisine (along with the Northern California wines), so it's a good thing I go to the gym every day.

Books: I've got a book with me at just about all times. Currently reading The Warmth of Other Suns and Remnick's bio of Obama. Love the Sunday New York Times. Recently finished Guns, Germs, and Steel. Before that, it was The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and the Autobiography of Malcolm X.

The first one on most lists (or should be): Toothbrush
My kids
Reading
The ocean
Having a purpose/being of service
Conversation

I spend a lot of time thinking about how people break or forge ties and about how to help people come together for a common purpose.

I spend a lot of time thinking about my 10th-grader's homework (more time than he spends thinking about his homework).

Two general tendencies:

1) Home with kids and dogs, enjoying a good glass of Pinot, curled up with a good book next to my outdoor fireplace.

2) Out with one or two really good friends, laughing over dinner and again enjoying a good glass of Pinot.

I'm really brave, but that doesn't mean I'm not often scared.

You really want to take a chance and discover the connections that may be all around.....