I am an adult educator, mother of two, community builder, and independent researcher from Romania.
For as long as I can remember, I have been preoccupied by two questions: What is our true nature as human beings? And was there ever a time in history when children were not routinely controlled, shamed, punished, or abused by the adults around them?
My search for answers led me through more than fifteen years of work in adult education, community learning, human development, and research into learning, schooling, and the conditions that allow people to thrive. Along the way, I became increasingly interested in the role of early relationships, belonging, play, community, and connection with nature in shaping who we become.
Today, I live with my family in a small rural village in Romania, where I am not only studying these questions but trying to live them. Together with other families, we are experimenting with more village-like ways of living, learning, raising children, and supporting one another. The experience has taught me that rebuilding community is both simpler and far more challenging than most people imagine.
Discovering the Evolved Nest felt like finding a missing piece of a puzzle I had been assembling for years. It offered a coherent framework for understanding both the extraordinary capacities of human beings and the many ways modern societies have drifted away from the conditions that help those capacities unfold.
As a Nesting Ambassador, I hope to help bring these ideas to Romania and support individuals, families, educators, and communities who are searching for more connected, nurturing, and life-serving ways of being human together.