What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?

For a good part of my childhood, I spent almost all my time doing gymnastics, more specifically power tumbling! I had the chance to compete in two national championships and loved flipping and twisting across the floor.

You were recently elevated to vice president of Support Services at Nantucket Cottage Hospital (NCH), where you have worked for nearly a decade. What contribution to the hospital are you most proud of?

I am very proud of the work I have done in helping bring various departments across the hospital together to solve difficult problems. More specifically, working on projects to support our patients throughout the pandemic was particularly rewarding as it really showed the power of teamwork and the impact that NCH has on the community.

In your life outside of NCH, you recently launched a ready-to-drink cocktail called Nantucket Ōshen Brew that was featured at the Chamber of Commerce annual Pitch Competition at the Dreamland. How did this recipe come about?

Creating unique and delicious ways to bring family and friends together has been a part of my life since I was a child. Countless summers were spent with my grandma in the kitchen making everything under the sun to share with family and friends who would inevitably arrive to the kitchen to enjoy! I have spent the past few years experimenting with various fermented creations that included sourdough, kimchi, kombucha, and finally I found my way to Jun Kombucha and from there the Nantucket Ōshen Brew recipe was born.

If you were put in charge of putting together a time capsule so that people could understand Nantucket two hundred years from now, what three items would you put in it?

1) A selection of books from Mitchell’s written by local Nantucket authors. It would include fiction and nonfiction and would showcase not only Nantucket but some of the current events and culture that exists today.

2) Fisher Real Estate’s end of year report for 2022 to showcase what houses looked like as well as the crazy prices that some of these estates were sold for.

3) A collection of Nantucket Bay scallop and oyster shells, unique to the island, and [I would] hope that they continue to thrive two hundred years from now and they aren’t a relic of the past.

What’s your favorite Nantucket Stroll ritual?

Sunday brunch is a must during our Nantucket Stroll and has been a part of our tradition for many years. It’s a great time to catch up with friends in town for the weekend and then spend the afternoon strolling through downtown enjoying the open shops and restaurants.

You and your husband Tim—our trusty Need to Read columnist—are originally from Wisconsin. What’s one part of Wisconsin that you wish existed on Nantucket?

Friday night fish fry! Nearly every Wisconsin town has a restaurant that serves a fish fry on Friday nights, and when we are back in Wisconsin, I always try to have it at least once. In high school, I worked at a supper club that had some of the best, and I will always remember the Friday night rush of people waiting to get their favorite order.

What’s an often-overlooked island activity that you would recommend to someone visiting Nantucket for the first time?

One of my favorite summer nights is heading out to ’Sconset to The Summer House for cocktails and the piano sing-along. The space transports you to a different era, and the atmosphere always promises a great summer night!

What’s one piece of advice that you live by?

Enjoy the little things in life, love one another deeply and appreciate the wonders we have all around us each day. What’s one thing you can’t live without? Apart from my loving husband and adorable dog, I absolutely love chocolate and more specifically chocolate chip cookies; it would be a tough life to live without fresh-baked cookies!

What’s the best way to enjoy the winter on Nantucket?

Tim and I love the winter on Nantucket because it is so starkly different than the summer. We often fill the warm months with friends and family visits, beaches and restaurants, and so the counterpart of winter is so enjoyable. Our favorite winter day might consist of hot yoga in the morning, followed by me cooking a delicious meal while Tim delves into the latest new book that arrived that day, all while our little dog Simba is curled up enjoying the sun—rinse and repeat.