Born in rural Western New York, Jill grew up being active outdoors: riding horses, dirt bikes, snowmobiles and boats; skiing downhill and cross country; ice skating, ice fishing on the lake in the winter with swimming and boating in the summer. There were outdoor sleepovers in her treehouse and by the bonfire. Exploring the lake, creeks, fields and woods yielded a love of nature and its creatures - she was drawn to study Biology as a result and obtained a B.S in Biology from the State University of New York at Fredonia.
She found her niche in science as a Research Laboratory Technician. She advanced and over a 20 year career managed many basic research biomedical laboratories in a variety of fields and applications such as cancer research, recombinant gene technology, endocrinology, immunology, microbiology and diabetes studies. She has co-authored and contributed to peer reviewed scientific journals.
As much as she loved science, she craved being her own boss. A trip to Egypt started an import business that lasted for over 10 years and spawned many travels solo and with her first husband, a commercial airline pilot.
After the birth of her only child, she quit the laboratories and the travel. Staying home she turned to another familiar love - antiques; buying and selling vintage goods in several antique malls and working from home as an eBay Power Seller for years.
A latent talent of Jill’s was persuasive speaking - she served as Vice President of her High School Debate Team and earning a trip to Nationals, ended up obtaining the highest merits in Forensic Speech. Public speaking and a gift for sales led to a later career in Real Estate.
A lifetime of odd experiences and a life changing one in the Great Pyramid of Egypt led to an interest in the metaphysical. She got attuned in Reiki and studied mystical practices. Working in real estate led to some ghostly encounters in houses for sale and she joined a paranormal team.
Hoping for a scientific approach in paranormal investigation, she formed her own team, Scientific Minds Paranormal, which introduced her to her second husband, a software engineer. Many long talks while ghost hunting lead to them forming their own software company (StreamSide Software, LLC) and creating a ghost hunting app for iOS that has been on the top selling charts for almost a decade. Their App, Spirit Story Box, was based on the scientific principles of the Princeton University Global Consciousness Project.
Branching out into the full spectrum of strange phenomena, she joined the newly created Indiana MUFON Chapter, soon becoming President and Field Investigator, later to become Chief Investigator of MUFON Indiana during a UFO flap.
Jill now works as a professional organizer, traveling and investigating solo and with various groups and teams. Her hobbies include rock and fossil hunting, shell collecting, Reiki, history and bird watching.
