Born in Waverly, Iowa, Victoria’s family moved to Fresno, California shortly before she turned three-years-old. She grew up in a close and ethnically mixed neighborhood at a time when Fresno still had fruit orchards sprinkled in the midst of its city streets. She also grew up a bookworm and knew at an early age that she wanted to be a writer.

She completed a B.A. in English from California State University, Fresno. After four years in the doctoral program in English at the University of California, Davis, she left it and entered their M.F.A. program in playwriting, completing her degree in 1981.

Though unplanned, her desire for meaningful work led her to a career in arts nonprofit organizations, starting as a development director for the Sacramento Theatre Company and later as executive director for the Southwest Montana Arts Council; da Vinci Days, a 3-day arts, science, and technology festival; the Corvallis Arts Center and Linn-Benton Arts Council; and as a regional program manager for SMART, a statewide literacy program for grades K-3.

Her work in the medical field began as a volunteer storyteller in the Child Life Program in pediatrics at the University of California Davis Medical Center (UCDMC). Her experiences there led her to a passionate conviction that the arts were essential to a healing environment for children. With the support of the child life director, Connie Baker, she created a position called arts program specialist and in the first year created a performance series for hospitalized children, completed a life mask project for patients with funding from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, and secured a grant to transform the “helicopter window,” a hallway just outside the pediatric ward with a window that overlooked the Lifeflight helicopter – a space that drew children, parents, and staff.

After a year of collaborative work, Connie returned to Oklahoma and Victoria was offered the position of child life director; she trained to offer sand tray therapy and expanded the arts program to include a visual art therapist and a music therapist. Her memoir, Shards of Memory, is based on her experiences in pediatrics, as is her one-act play, You’re Getting Warmer.

She did not return to work in the medical field until twelve years later when she became the director of the Corvallis Arts Center in 2001. In partnership with the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Victoria and her staff created a program called ArtsCare to enable artists to work with adult patients in dialysis units, the cancer center, and a hospice agency.

After directing the Writing Center at Linn-Benton Community College for nine years, Victoria retired in June of 2017, allowing more time for her writing. She continues to make Corvallis, Oregon her home, drawn to its natural beauty and the community’s passion for the arts and education.