A LIT'L ABOUT CHELSEA MAE GAGNON

"Be excellent to each other." - Bill & Ted

Chelsea Mae grew up in Henderson, KY & moved to Louisville, KY when she was 17-years-old to attend the University of Louisville (UofL). Throughout her college career, she worked as an investigative aide for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives/Alcoholic Beverage Control, 3rd shift as a package handler at UPS, & in the Neurodevelopmental Sciences Lab at UofL w/ children w/ Williams syndrome, 7q11.23 duplication syndrome, & Down syndrome helping w/ research to further our understanding of cognitive, language, & social development in the context of intellectual disability & in typical development. She attended the Williams Syndrome National Convention & International Professional Conference.
Chelsea Mae enjoys participating in her community & has spent time volunteering at Down Syndrome of Louisville, Home of the Innocents, & The Cabbage Patch Settlement House since moving to Louisville, KY. Chelsea Mae double majored in psychology & sociology b/c she believes both are important to understand both the trees & the forest in our society. Chelsea Mae's honors theses focused on depression in elderly individuals in relation to their physical functioning levels & also compared men to women.
After graduating from UofL w/ her 2 bachelor's degrees in 2007, Chelsea Mae began teaching preschool. She was certified by Community Coordinated Child Care (4-C).
In 2009, she began working w/ individuals w/ dementia/Alzheimer's disease & was promoted to Life Enrichment Manager (LEM) in 2011. Chelsea Mae's certified by the Alzheimer's Association in Virginia Bell & David Troxel's Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's care. As an LEM, Chelsea Mae helps adapt activities based on each resident w/ memory loss's unique life story, skills, & interests in a way that enriches their mind, body, & spirit. She developed an edible garden on the patio for the residents w/ dementia to tend w/ her, take pride in, & enjoy eating from.
Also in 2011, Chelsea Mae bought what's become Meriwether Homestead. It was a foreclosed property in the Meriwether neighborhood in Louisville, KY. The home had excellent bones but needed quite a bit of care to be inhabitable again.
Chelsea Mae excitedly began creating a permaculture food forest at Meriwether Homestead in 2011 & has also cared for chickens, ducks, quail, & rabbits.

A woman w/ many talents, Chelsea Mae was featured in Louisville Magazine for her Crazy Amazing Kokedamas. Chelsea Mae also spent several years passionately learning how to do henna tattoos & began offering them professionally in 2015. You can see some of her henna work at her Facebook page, HENNA by Chelsea Mae. Chelsea Mae also has cross stitched since she was 12-years-old & now loves to create custom cross stitch pieces & portraits. You can see some of her cross stitch work at her Facebook page, In Stitches.
Chelsea Mae met Rob Gagnon in 2013, when he stayed at Meriwether Homestead during a Bourbon Bandits moped rally. They encountered one another at moped rallies in other cities & became adventure buddies. In 2015, Rob moved to Louisville, KY, & in 2016, Chelsea Mae & Rob Gagnon married in Preston Park & held their reception at Meriwether Homestead.