I grew up in Granville, Ohio, a small college town, and am the product of the K-12 public schools. After receiving my Bachelor's in Psychology in 2002, I moved to Hawaii where I lived for 6 years. During my time in Hawaii, I began my career in public education through working as a paraeducator in a day-treatment program and then as a one-on-one aide in an elementary school. I started my graduate program in 2004 for School Psychology, and soon after I began working for the Hawaii Department of Education in their School Based Behavioral Health department. Upon graduating with my Master's in 2007, I was hired as a School Psychologist and worked there for a year prior to relocating to the Pacific Northwest in 2008, when I began working for Evergreen Public Schools. During my time in Evergreen, I have worked with the preK to grade 12 population.  I work with students, families, educators, and building and district level administrators to provide both academic and emotional/behavioral supports and services for students.

• Appreciation of the day-to-day realities of the classroom and school building

• Advocacy for students' emotional and mental health needs

• Knowledge and understanding of the systems and organization of a school district

• Expertise in special education processes, procedures, and law

• Excellent communication and thoughtful decision-making and problem-solving skills

• Strong leadership and collaboration with teachers, administrators, and district-level staff 

• Partnerships and collaboration with community services and resources for students and families

• Advocate for students and their comprehensive needs, including academic, social/emotional, and physical needs. Students need to feel safe and have their basic needs met in order to learn to their full potential.

• Value transparency and communication with the community; seek community input and accessibility of the board to the public. 

• Prioritize our budget appropriately to ensure classrooms are safe and supportive places of learning and academic growth.

• Support prevention strategies and initiatives, including early learning/intervention and social/emotional learning, to support students for positive education outcomes.

• Ensure that our schools are equitable and are meeting the comprehensive needs of ALL of our students; the "achievement gap" is the symptom, the "opportunity gap" is the problem