Anna is the founder and executive director of the Onslow Originals nonprofit. She and her husband, a retired Marine Corps Veteran, have called Onslow County home for over 20 years.   Through her work building art-based communities online and in-person she saw the powerful benefits art offered people. As the resident artist and program manager for a military art program from 2018 to 2022, she was fortunate to be partnered with creative arts therapists who helped deepen her understanding of art's therapeutic benefits. She used that knowledge to create Onslow Originals, ensuring continued access to those benefits for our local civilian and military populations. Anna grew up in a home filled with creativity, where she learned its profound impact from a young age. Her parents and extended family continually encouraged her to explore many avenues of self-expression through art. As an adult, her creativity began to be utilized in more practical ways, both in her professional life and as a wife and mom. When her mother passed away not long after the birth of her second child, she instinctively turned to art as a way to process intense emotions. There she discovered the world of mixed-media art and immediately felt at home. Anna enjoys a diverse creative practice of art journaling, writing, photography, textile arts, music, and more!