Not long after I was born, they moved to New Jersey, then later to Virginia, where my first memories are of trooping through the snow following my dad and learning how to ride a bike on the top of a hill. My brother, Dan, three years younger than I, was born there. We moved to central Florida when I was around 8, which is where my real memories begin. We first lived on a lake, where my parents had a couple boats. Then we moved to a bigger house after my little brother Ken, seven years younger than Dan, was born. My brothers.

I missed most of my little brother Ken's childhood because just when he started to become interesting I went off to college in Miami. I went to the University of Miami because I wanted to get a degree in Biomedical Engineering, and at the time that was the only school in the state of Florida. Now, of course, there are several other schools that offer the degree. I found an interesting professor, Michael Sacks, and did my MS with him, then followed him off to the University of Pittsburgh's Bioengineering Department for my doctorate, where he still is. My professional life.

In Miami I met the man of my dreams, Mr. Cesar Manuel Valenica. He suffers from the same name problem as I, he uses his middle name. We started dating in 1993 and married in 2002 in Pittsburgh.

When I graduated with my doctorate in 2003, I didn't have a job lined up, so I sent to work at RJ Lee Group, a materials characterization analytical laboratory outside Pittsburgh. The folks at RJ Lee were great to me, and knew I was looking for a position which validated my 11 years post-high school education. I found it at Exponent, also a consulting company, but with a biomechanics division. Please read about my credentials.

Have a good day.