I was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, the first of three daughters of Merle and Ben McKinnon. My sisters are Ellen, four years younger and Lisa, eleven years younger. I grew up in the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama. My mother was a nurse, but stayed home while we were growing up. My father was the General Manager of WSGN Radio, a TOP 40 radio station. Here is a picture of me on my second birthday. Wasn't I adorable?
I went up north to college (the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and majored in Radio, Television, and Motion Pictures. After graduation I married Dale Todd, an officer in the U.S. Navy, and moved to Norfolk, Virginia. The next seven years were spent working in radio and advertising and living for a year in Naples, Italy. I started going back to school in Atlanta, Georgia in the late 1970s, finally graduating with a PhD in Business Administration in 1981.
I moved to Boston in 1980 and began work as an Assistant Professor at Northeastern University. In 1982, I married Bill Bruns and we lived for a year in Lausanne, Switzerland before returning to Boston. We live in a big white house in Wellesley with our new daughter Stacy and various pets. I have four step-sons, three daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren, who all unfortunately live across the country in Missouri, California and Oregon.
Piano: I have played the piano for 42 years, and have studied in recent years with David Witten and Jonathan Bass. My favorite composers are Frederick Chopin, Franz Schubert, Claude Debussy, and Enrique Granados.
I have participated in quarterly master classes conducted by Phyllis Moss for eight years and am a member of the Jeanette Giguere Piano Workshop which meets monthly. Here is a picture of the members of the workshop at our annual recital several years ago.
Handicrafts: Having covered all the walls in my house and office with needlepoint and cross-stitch, I turned to quilting several years ago. Here are pictures of some of my quilts.
Gardening: I am an avid gardener in the spring. Fortunately, my garden is at a mature enough level that it forgives my neglect as the summer gets hot. I prefer perennials and wildflowers, although I have enjoyed recent success with roses.
Here are pictures of my garden and flowers.
Sports: I am a big Boston Red Sox fan, and we have season tickets. I also enjoy Patriots football. I also follow my alma mater, the Tar Heels, particularly during March Madness. My dirty little secret is that I am addicted to sports talk radio.
