Education and the joy of learning are central to who I am. I love to grow, collaborate and push my own limits. This thirst for knowledge has led me to travel and teach around the world.

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Beginnings

I am originally from Seattle, Washington. I graduated from the Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University with my B.A. in Special Education. Shortly after graduating, I completed my post-baccalaureate in Elementary Education in Victoria, Australia at Moriac Primary.

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Teaching Experience

After my internship abroad, I returned to my college town where substitute taught grades K-12, worked as a teaching assistant in an elementary school's Emotional and Behavioral Disorders classroom, and joined the successful government program Head Start as a  home visitor and preschool teacher for families with low socio-economic status. 

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Wanting to move to the "big city", I accepted a summer leadership position as the Family and Community Partnership Coordinator at Seattle's Denise Louie Early Childhood Education Center. After the summer I started as a Special Education Teacher with the Lake Washington School District, where I taught for the next 3 years. I wrote Individualized Education Programs and taught in a self-contained classroom for students with disabilities age 3 to 5 years.

 

 

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My Move International 

While I loved teaching in my home state, I felt the need to truly experience the diversity and globalism that we stressed with our students. After completing my Masters in Teacher Leadership, I left the United States to solo travel around the world. This travel brought me to Australia, South America, Asia, Africa and Europe. 

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After 1 year of backpacking, I was ready to apply my new experience and knowledge in the classroom. In 2015, I was ecstatic to join the Korea International School in Seoul, South Korea as the new Junior Kindergarten teacher. While there, I assisted in developing the early years program by adopting developmentally appropriate and aligned standards, implementing the Reggio Emilia Approach and serving as department lead. I worked with the leadership teams to create a report card for the early years, and constructed a scope and sequence for Junior Kindergarten. In addition, I used many digital tools to foster parent/teacher communication, including Storypark, Seesaw, Class Dojo and Schoology. 

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In summer 2019, after spending 4 years in the classroom at Korea International School, I moved to Rome, Italy. In Rome, I gained valuable experience on the other side of the classroom- as a parent! That fall, my husband and I welcomed our first daughter, Beatrice into the world, and in 2021 our second daughter, Margot. 

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What initially began as a year abroad quickly turned into 10. With over 50 countries visited, I can safely say there is not a culture I cannot connect with in some way. The amount of understanding and wonder that I have cultivated during my time outside of the US has changed me, both as a person and an educator. It is this global experience, compassion and excitement that I look forward to bringing back to the classroom with me.

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Who I Am

I am an educator, a parent of two multicultural and multilingual children, and a leader. I love working with families and students from diverse cultures. I am passionate about the difference I am able to make while constantly growing and pushing myself. I am confident in my ability to reach students and connect with them where they are, while bringing them to the next level. I can't imagine doing anything else. 

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