My name is Vera Lynn Petersen.  I was born and raised on meat and canned vegetables in Omaha, Nebraska. I currently live in an old farmhouse of rural Iowa, and commute to all of the fun in Omaha.

I run quite a few rodeos around town as I am the Founder of The Omaha Foodie Club, the Head of Community Engagement at Bench, a provisionally licensed mental health practitioner, and a proud wife and puppy mom.

When I grow up, I imagine living my life as a mental health therapist by day and a food critic by night.

My love for food and supporting local grew out of realizing how hard it is to run a small business, attending events such as Dandelion Pop-up as their mission is to support local chefs, and my ever-growing passion to learn about the science and culture of food.

In my free time, I take care of my 50+ plants, read almost a book a week, attend non-credit cooking classes at Metropolitan Community College, and am a big fan of The Crafter’s Box.

The geeky stuff: My favorite color is green, although I try to convince myself that it is purple.  I am a 1w2 on the Enneagram, although I believe I also heavily relate to a 6. My Myers-Briggs is INTJ. My top Clifton strengths include Strategic, Responsibility, Discipline, Communication, Empathy, Developer, Individualization, Achiever, and Learner.