About Me
Some of you may have known my father, Phil Reeves, and/or my mother, Jan Reeves. They both had a large influence on my life. My father was in the U.S. Navy until he was 45, so I was born in Japan, and then moved approximately every two years to: Virginia, Turkey, Delaware, Italy, and finally, to Maryland. My mother, throughout, was the translator for the family when we were in foreign countries, and the glue that held us together every time we moved. Additionally, my mother gave me the confidence to pursue my interests, and not to be molded into the roles society dictates for women. Both of my parents were intelligent and creative, with diverse interests and a desire to help others whenever they could. Those of you who can remember the years my father spent as treasurer of the Slanesville Volunteer Fire Department know the truth of that statement.
I went to Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio for five years (dual degree program of B.A. in Mathematics and B.M. in Piano Performance) , Cornell University in Ithaca, New York for 6 years (M.A. in Computer Science and Ph.D in Pure Mathematics), and Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts (National Science Foundation Post Doc). I worked briefly at Thinking Machines, a company that built massively parallel computers and filed for bankruptcy shortly after I arrived, and I finally landed at the Center for Computing Sciences (CCS) in Bowie, Maryland, where I worked for nearly 25 years at the intersection between mathematics and computer science with top researchers to create computer programs in service of this nation’s defense.
While in Bowie, my love of all things dog blossomed. I was a founding member of the Bowie Dog Park, and I took an entire, 6 week course on TTouch, as well as two courses on "Basic Canine Behavior & Training" and "Canine Behavior Modification" from Peaceable Paws (TM) Dog and Puppy Training. As part of the TTouch training, I spent a year going to the local animal shelter every other Saturday to work with behaviorally challenged dogs. I've also been to a couple of ClickerExpos, where I learned methods of teaching and learning so radical that, had I been taught in those ways, likely my life would have gone in an entirely different direction.
My parents moved to Slanesville, WV in the early ‘80s, just after I left home for college. I’ve been coming home to WV ever since. When it was time to look for land to retire to, the Eastern Panhandle was a natural choice: inexpensive land (though more expensive than much of WV), and close to my parents. I and my life partner found a beautiful, subsistence farm, which we bought in 2010 and recently put under Farmland Conservation protection. In 2019, I retired and moved here permanently. I’ve never regretted it. WV is kind to retirees.
All that said, I take most of my business outside of WV, because Hampshire, and nearby counties, lack a lot of the services I require: a decent grocery store, and specialized medical care to name two. I would like to help change that. That requires making WV more attractive to more than just retirees and veterans.
So far in my life, I have lived where I didn’t know the language and seen serious poverty (the memory of seeing the disabled gypsies begging in the market in Turkey still haunts me), partaken in conversations and collaborations with some of the best and the brightest this country produces, and fought to be respected in a mostly (white) man’s world. I grew up at a time when the acronym LGBT hadn’t been invented yet, when bullying (which I experienced a great deal) hadn't yet gone online, when the teachings of historical racism were limited to watching a few, horrific films, and when I was an oddball, being a female very good at mathematics. And I've seen man's inhumanity to animals (dogs, in particular), and the results of that trauma. These experiences, and many more, have informed my perspective.
My interests are: Economy, Education, Environment and Equity. Click on the links to learn why these are important issues for me, and for us as a state and a nation.