While I am originally a North Dakotan with a hint of Minnesota, my 22 years teaching are unilaterally Texan. Before joining Austin High School this year, I was at Quail Valley Middle School for 14 years, serving 8 years as English/Language Arts (ELA) Department Head. While there, I was named Gulf Coast Region Teacher of the Year for the Gifted in 2012 by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT) and was a FBISD District Finalist for Teacher of the Year in 2009.  Upon leaving QVMS in 2016, I taught at Ridge Point High School for 8 years. Throughout my teaching career, I have been privileged to work with many diverse populations of students in 6th - 12th grade, including general education, AAC, AP and remedial reading classes. 

In addition to teaching, I have also stayed active inside and out of the district, authoring curriculum, participating in committees, and presenting numerous professional development sessions at the campus, district, and state level. Because of this activity in the professional community, in 2015, I was able to publish my first book with Prufrock Press, Stand Up! Speak Out!: The Social Action Curriculum for Building 21st-Century Skills, co-authored with two of my colleagues, Joe Bernhart and David Sebek.

My education includes a Bachelor's degree in English Composition and Language with an emphasis on Linguistics and a minor in Music from the University of North Texas and a Master's degree in Administration Leadership and Supervision from the University of Houston in 2008 with certifications in Secondary English 6 - 12, English as a Second Language, and Principal EC - 12. I have remained in the classroom because I enjoy the challenge of motivating students to frantically pursue their eternally elusive potential through relevant classroom endeavors that encourage critical thinking.