In my Educational Support role, I guest teach in all classrooms (including specials) from Preschool to Older Kids, ensuring a seamless continuation of curriculum progression and classroom routines when teachers need to be away from school. This position enables me to collaborate with the entire Rivendell staff and get to know every student as they develop through the year. As a proud volunteer, staff member, and parent of a Rivendell student, I am grateful to be part of a school where excellence is fostered, risks are encouraged, and individuality is celebrated.

Following a seven-year career as a botanist with the U.S. Forest Service, I discovered my true passion as an educator in 2006. Since then, I have taught a broad spectrum of learners ranging from toddlers to senior citizens, in environments ranging from the traditional classroom to snow-capped mountaintops. During my tenure as a naturalist, environmental educator, and community relations specialist for several government agencies and nonprofit organizations in Colorado and California, I also developed and executed volunteer programs, marketing and outreach campaigns, large-scale events, and strategic planning processes. Since 2019, I have worked in both public and private schools as a preschool teacher, a K-5 Special Education instructional paraeducator, a 1st-3rd grade homeschool teacher, and a K-5 substitute teacher throughout the Poudre School District, in addition to guest teaching at Rivendell during the 2022-23 school year.

I believe that effective education is rooted in trusting and respectful relationships between teachers and students, where each person feels uniquely seen, understood, and valued. I teach with enthusiasm, encouragement, and a healthy dose of humor, aiming to keep school a fun and empowering experience for students and teachers alike. My mission is to help every student grow academically, interpersonally, and psychologically, helping them to achieve success and independence as learners, friends, classmates, and citizens of the greater community.

Outside of school, I enjoy hiking in the woods, visiting the ocean, listening to music, and spending time with family.