I grew up in a small Sicilian fishing village in California. Upon graduating from college my father gave me an airplane ticket to Washington, DC - August 1959. I worked for John F. Kennedy for four years - in the Senate, on his presidential campaign, and in the White House, always on civil rights issues. Later I became a Park Ranger botanist for the National Park Service parks in Washington, DC. My serious artistic life began as a photographer in 1988. I was a member of Multiple Exposures Gallery in the Torpedo Factory Art Center from 1993 until 2010. Now I am a MA degree student at American University, learning to be a Documentary Filmmaker. WHUT - TV has asked me to make an award winning ten-minute video into a 26 minute video for broadcast. I am presently Director and Producer of this project. The 10 minute version can be seen on www.vimeo.com/crownme