I grew up in South Seattle, completed my undergraduate degree in Psychology at Eastern Washington University and pursued my Masters of Social Work degree at the University of Washington. I worked for the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) as a Child Protective Services Investigator, Family Assessment Response Specialist and Family Voluntary Services Specialist.
During my time with DCYF, I referred children and families to in-home mental health services, conducted home visits and partnered with community members to ensure families’ unmet needs were addressed. I also worked for the Developmental Disabilities Administration as a Case Resource Manager for children with disabilities ages 3-21.
As a Case Resource Manager, I worked with families and providers to prevent disruptions in services and collaborated with families and community partners to advocate for the needs of my clients. I love engaging with children and their families and look forward to working with you all to help remove systemic and social justice barriers for students and their families. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my son, listening to music, and baking.
I officially began my education career in 2004, but becoming an educator had been my destiny for long before that. During my high school years, I gained a reputation for helping my peers succeed in their math classes. I left for college at the University of California at Santa Cruz knowing that I was going to major in math and minor in education in order to eventually earn a teaching credential. While there, I participated in a math teaching fellowship for two of my four years, a rare occurrence. I ended up earning graduating with honors in the major and college honors and was ready to take the next step.
And then, I spent the next couple years as a video game tester at EA and Nintendo and working odd warehouse jobs.
Just after the start of the millennium, I remembered my destiny and was accepted to Western Washington University’s Master’s in Teaching program at their former Seattle location. At this time, I also dove in and subbed in Edmonds for 8th grade PE, Kindergarten music, and whatever else they would give me on an emergency credential. After graduating in 2004, I joined the staff at Sammamish High School in Bellevue, earned my National Board Certification, taught almost every level of math (except statistics, which is not my favorite), and never thought I would leave.
The effects of the global pandemic caused me to reconsider a number of things in my life and when a position came up at a school that was closer to my home and doing interesting things with math, I jumped at the opportunity to shake things up. I’m pleased to spend my 18th year as an educator at Lincoln and look forward to working with the community to make this place as special as we can.
