Vickie grew up in remote ranch country in Arizona, riding her pony through thedesert, happily immersed in wild nature. Naturally inquisitive, she chose to studybiology, receiving her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Arizona. As aresearch professor at the University of New Mexico Biology department, shestudied the molecular genetics of aging and she taught courses ranging fromfreshman to graduate levels. In 2000, she founded Bio-Logic LLC, a consultingcompany focused on building biosensors for detecting infectious diseases.After many years in a fast-paced career, she felt a need to return to wild natureand to go inward. In 2007, she took a deep dive into a remote village in theAmazon. She lived as her Indigenous hosts did. She had no electronics, noplumbing and no contact outside the village. She ate what her hosts ate. When shereturned home, she felt healthier than she could remember. A truly remarkableexperience!She also began to study indigenous healing practices with a teacher from Mexico,a journey that continues today. She is co-writing a book with her teacher,suggesting that contemporary science is not the first to discover deep principles ofhealth, medicine and the cosmos.Vickie lives in an orchard in the Village of Placitas with her husband, somechickens and many wild creatures. She is currently leading an experimental farmproject to explore place-based approaches for growing food while conservingwater.