DeAnna was born and bred (mostly) in the mountains of North Carolina with frequent visits and extended stays on Ocracoke beginning before she was one year old.  Due to school and jobs and life, she went from 1979 to 1993 without setting foot back on the island.  After vacationing here briefly in the fall of 1993, DeAnna went back to her home in Asheville, NC to figure out a way to spend more time on Ocracoke.  In 1996, she came to spend the summer here and hasn’t left yet!

Upon taking the job at the OPS Museum, DeAnna received an e-mail from a friend who has known her for 39 years saying, “I’m glad you’ll have the opportunity to work for an organization that teaches others about the place you love so much.”  Her friend is right.  DeAnna’s love for Ocracoke and her memories of childhood times spent here make her proud to share the island with others. The OPS Museum affords her the chance to do just that.