Deb's family has lived in Whatcom, King and Kittitas counties for generations, so she's been aptly described as a Washington State deep-seeded apple. She's originally from Bellingham, having graduated from Western Washington University a couple times, and now that the nest is sufficiently vacant she looks forward to a return to her beautiful hometown. Currently, Deb's embracing her second career as an academic librarian with teaching and consulting. She enjoys hearing about what people are reading, and keeps a list of what to find next. Deb has a small fleet of bikes so cycling about is as fun as can be along with hiking and walking. When out meandering in the woods she enjoys identifying PNW native plants, and often carries her Pojar reference book just to make sure she's correct.

Deb has had her eye on co-creating a cohousing community in Bellingham for many years, so this opportunity to be part of the genesis of 4th Corner Commons is simply a dream come true. And in true librarian form, it was all because of a book that hooked her on cohousing communities.

Bill is a semi-retired social worker who enjoys the active life of running, backpacking, pickle ball, bike riding and any outdoor adventure that comes his way. Diane is also a social worker assisting low-income folks in the Seattle downtown area. During her much-deserved downtime, Diane enjoys reading a good novel, gardening, and developing her birding skills. Debra is a high school sophomore with her sites on attending an HBCU upon graduation. She is an avid video gamer, loves true crime podcasts and enjoys hanging out with her dogs (Ruby and Ali) when not working at Trader Joe’s or attending school. Family time includes watching favorite movies and tv series, as well as collaborating on the NY Times Spelling Bee, Connections or Wordle.

Living in an intentional community is a long-held dream for the Carmel-Wilson family and Bellingham is the perfect location. The city has provided many wonderful family memories beginning 12 years ago when toddler Debra and Diane met Bill during his Seattle-to-Vancouver bike tour. Having returned many times, they continue to enjoy the natural beauty, small restaurants and outstanding bookstores of Bellingham and nearby Fairhaven. They look forward to joining a community of members from a variety of backgrounds that are invested in knowing and supporting their cohousing neighbors.

Dan and Virginia both have longstanding interest in cohousing and lived in cohousing for a delightful year on Vancouver Island, BC in 2007.

We are parents of two adult sons. Virginia has worked in natural medicine for forty years as a functional medicine practitioner and integrative chiropractic physician. In addition to being an at-home dad, Dan has worked in radio, journalism, and for the past 30 years has managed Virginia’s health care practice. Both of us are very active and love to be out and about – hiking, biking, X-C skiing, botanizing, birding, swimming, and paddling. We share a long-term commitment to sustainable and restorative agriculture, local food webs, and non-motorized transportation.

Dan is finishing a coming-of-age novel, and Virginia looks forward to more gardening and volunteering for causes she cares about.

To cohousing, we bring our love of collaborative endeavors of all kinds, listening and communication skills, facilitation and conflict resolution, and appreciation for play, laughter, and celebration.