Carrie Thomas is a farmer, teacher, environmental advocate, mathematician, and grandmother residing in the Hood River Valley. She spent most of her childhood in Utah where she gained an appreciation of wild places by roaming the mountains and deserts of the state, often on horseback or skis.  She moved to Oregon in 1978 and has called Hood River Valley home since 2005. Carrie is a retired overseas educator having spent most of her career living in South Africa, Singapore, Scotland and Zimbabwe.  She currently grows Christmas trees on her Hood River farm.  Carrie is a land conservation advocate who values the legacy of Oregon land use laws as a way to help sustain our wild places to nourish our souls, and our farmland to nourish bodies. She believes the survival of the human species is directly tied to the preservation of the flora and fauna of our planet. Carrie loves living in a region with a strong local food network and deeply appreciates the bounty our valley offers.