There is so much beauty in the way we create our path of possibilities in life!
I am forever grateful that my undergraduate experience at Tufts University provided me the opportunity to build an exceptional foundation for my career as an educator. Liberal arts requirements sent me to a course in Child Study, my first true interdisciplinary experience. Plans to pursue a career in the legal field quickly disappeared as I settled into the Eliot-Pearson Department. Shaped by insights gained from developmental, social and cognitive psychology, I pursued specializations in Early Childhood Education (Preschool-3rd Grade) and the Education of Young Children with Special Needs (0-8 years old.) I had the privilege of being inspired and advised by Professor Maryanne Wolf, who showed me the wonders of a child's mind, spirit and beliefs and shared with me the passion of being an analytical, reflective, and innovative educator.
Initial experiences as an early intervention specialist and Head Start supervisor led me to complete a master's degree in educational administration at the University of Rochester, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, before teaching in public elementary schools in Brookline and Newton, Massachusetts. I am indebted to the METCO Directors' Association for three years of focused support in understanding my white privilege and what it means to commit oneself to be an anti-racist educator.
Since re-locating to California, early professional highlights have been classroom, intervention, and magnet teacher positions in the San Francisco and San Mateo-Foster City public school districts. I obtained certification in California as a Multi-Subjects, Preschool, K-12, Adult Teacher and completed a USD Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development program to add a CLAD certificate.
The draw of individualized opportunities for advanced training and research brought me into the independent school community, where I have enjoyed shaping student success programs, along with curriculum for differentiated instruction and student-driven explorations at SF Bay Area PS/Elementary, PS/Elementary/MS, Elementary/MS and HS programs. Multiple conferences and in-depth institutes through the Learning & the Brain Society and the Social Thinking Group, along with a three year UCSF/Neuroscape Center research collaboration expanded my understanding of myself as a learning engineer, working in the field of education.
The desire to expand myself through having a private practice as a learning specialist/educational consultant led me to also pursue a variety of other growth challenges from a year-long PK-3 Early Learning Mathematics Initiative through the San Mateo County Office of Education, IMSE Orton-Gillingham Multi-Sensory/Lindamood-Bell Visualizing & Verbalizing programs and design thinking for teachers/educational leaders to completing coursework through UCR to obtain a certificate in Educational Therapy. My learning journey continues with attending conferences, participating in trainings and reading, especially within the neuroscience of learning and its overlap with mental health. I am ready to design a unique program with each of my clients that will meet our shared goals!