Meet the Founder of Terra Frma

I'm the founder of Terra Frma. Having lived in Oregon for over 30 years, I've always been ready for wildfire season. Or so I thought.

The Fire That Changed Everything

In 2014, a wildfire near our home got too close for comfort. We were constantly driving up the hill to see how close it was getting, trying to make sense of how to protect our home from flying embers. The sky was beautiful and concerning all at once. One minute we were marveling at the colors, the next we were right back atop the hill, staring at two plumes.

What was I supposed to do? What was I supposed to pack? How would I know if we needed to evacuate? Was I supposed to get the irrigation going all over the house, or was that futile? And why was I only thinking of these things now?

I had a million questions and few answers in one place. I was frustrated by how many places I had to search online just to piece together a plan, and I made a quiet decision to get my family as prepared as possible "once I had more time." A statement that perfectly sums up how easy it is to avoid preparing right in this moment. It seemed like it would take forever to do it right. That was my first hint that this was a problem, and not just for my family.

That day I was solo parenting while my husband was out of town for work, hosting family, working, worrying. Our home was filled with gear. Having been an outdoor enthusiast, instructor, and retail manager for decades prior, I had plenty to choose from, but none of it was sorted for emergency use. I knew better and still hadn't taken that vital step. What was that all about?

The Trip I Almost Didn't Take

The fire was contained days later, much to our relief. But soon after, I found myself avoiding scheduling a family trip to the Oregon coast, out of a quiet fear of an earthquake or tsunami striking while we were there, unprepared.

I'm not an alarmist. I tend to be an optimist. I'd simply read enough to understand the real risks of visiting the west coast’s beaches. This marked a turning point for me. With a little one excited to see the ocean, I wasn't willing to keep avoiding something that could be solved if I just took the time to think it through. I needed to find a way to feel safe and still visit the coast my family loves.

I'm a seasoned entrepreneur and a trained, certified life coach specializing in resistance and resilience. I've spent years helping people follow through on whatever they were ready to accomplish, and spotting resistance is a huge part of that work. I know when to see it shifting, including in myself. I was in the exact sweet spot I look for as a coach: ready to pay attention to my own avoidance and unwind a path forward.

So I sat with it. Took some time to think. It turned out to be a simple fix. We stay somewhere outside the tsunami zone overnight, we always carry a pack to the beach, and we all know exactly what to do should disaster strike. I printed up some information and tossed it into my pack.

Building What Didn't Exist

With the coast trip behind us, I turned my attention to our life at home: an area prone to wildfire, surrounded by beautiful volcanoes, and close enough to the Cascadia Subduction Zone to feel it if it slips into a megathrust in my lifetime.

I finally dove into researching. I tried to find the best practices for preparing my family, and what I found instead was a mountain of information that was outdated, contradictory, cumbersome, or just plain intimidating. What do we really need to be prepared? In my mind, it was a product with clear, simple expertise. Something that helps you prepare, shows you what to do in a real-time emergency, and thoughtfully explains how to recover if things go wrong. Simple, yet thorough. Satisfying to complete, so it could help carry you over the inevitable hump of resistance, but bite-sized enough that you could chip away at it.

Where was it? Nowhere. Which blew my mind. Everyone needed something like this, and it didn't exist.

So I decided to build it myself. I assembled a team and expert advisors, studied the psychology of preparing, and spoke with (and learned from) disaster experts across the country. That three years of work became the Grab + Go Box, a system that includes the Disaster Deck and turns "someday I'll get prepared" into a plan you can actually follow, one step at a time.

Why Terra Frma

Creating Terra Frma was an enormous endeavor, but one I believed had to be taken on. We all deserve to feel prepared, and it's time to be ready.

I know how to motivate people. I know how to help people find the most focused, hopeful parts of themselves. I know how to move people through an experience, and I know how to help people get things done. I've infused all of that into everything Terra Frma makes. For you. For all of us.

So today, and every day, I'm wishing you and your family a successful journey toward preparedness. I know you're going to do it.

Ready to start? Explore the Grab + Go Box and Disaster Deck now.