Vicky moved to Fountain Hills in 1997 with her husband and she spent 13 years as an educator, homeschooling their two children and teaching class for other homeschooled students.

After her kids graduated from high school, she enrolled in the inaugural class for the Fountain Hills Leadership Academy, which turned into one of the most pivotal moments of her adult life.

Everything on her “service list” is a downstream result of that experience. Today she runs her own stargazing business, podcast and blog called Night Sky Tourist and is writing a book about night sky experiences for roadtrippers along Highway 89 from Mexico to Canada.

Vicky has volunteered for or held leadership positions in the Cultural & Civic Association, Dark Sky Association and Festival, L. Alan Cruikshank River of Time Museum & Exploration Center, Sister Cities Commission, International Dark Sky Discovery Center, Community Foundation and serves as a stargazing hike guide for the Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills.

It took Vicky a while to adapt to the Sonoran Desert after growing up in northern Idaho along rivers and surrounded by maple trees, but the proximity of great outdoor recreation, especially hiking, won her over.