Victoria Raucci Gonzales

I was born in 1958 into a delightful Italian family in Pittsburg, CA when it was a fairly small town. I am the youngest of four sisters and together we had a fun and stable upbringing. Our parents were very social with many friends and relatives and so were we. I’d say our family life was very harmonious and healthy.

I graduated from Pittsburg High School in 1976, Diablo Valley Junior College in 1979 and Sonoma State University in 1981.

I had summer jobs as soon as I was old enough to get a worker’s permit. First with Pittsburg Leisure Services and then with the California Department of Parks and Recreation in the Sierra Area throughout my college years. After graduation I was privileged to work as a crew leader on a trail building project in Sonoma County with the Youth Conservation Corps which was the final year of that youth employment program.

In the Fall of 1981, I moved to South Lake Tahoe and have lived here ever since. Initially I worked for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for a short time, but one of my claims to fame was being the first executive director for the Tahoe Rim Trail Fund, a National Volunteer Project, a non-profit organization established to plan, build and maintain a multi-use trail around the ridge tops of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

I got married in 1987 and in 1990 I shifted my energy to building our own business. I was 36 and 39 when I gave birth to our sons and life has been one hell of a ride!

Writing this series is my life’s objective, so it’s marvelous to finally publish the first book in the series. More to come…