I hold a masters degree in Education from the University of Michigan and have spent my career working with kids and families. I began as a social worker, where I worked with families to build support systems and provide advocacy to help them access the tools they needed to improve their situation. Recognizing that a good education could set young people on a road to stability and success, I became a teacher.

 

I have worked in schools for 25 years as a teacher, college counselor, and administrator. I have vast insight and creative expertise in working with all kinds of learners and their families and I have direct experience helping make schools work for families. As a classroom teacher, I’ve developed learning strategies that work for all kinds of learners and can design individualized learning plans for students that leverage their learning strengths. I have a keen understanding of the scope and sequence of curriculum from grades K-12 and I know where schools work and where kids can get lost. I love working with families to help them navigate and plan for the education of their child. ​

 

As a school administrator, I have worked to develop curriculum and programming for social-emotional health and wellness initiatives, DEI workshops, outdoor experiential education opportunities, restorative accountability practices to reinforce community norms, substance use and abuse education, grade-level team-building events, and more. I understand school culture and have worked to build healthy and inclusive school systems that work for kids and families. I take pride in providing young people with learning experiences that help them understand who they are in the world and equip them with the tools and intelligence they need to be successful in it. ​

 

Working as an Education Specialist, I partner with Collaborative Divorce Mediators and Family Lawyers to help families in transition make well-informed decisions about the education of their children. Whether that is helping frame a discussion about school choice, working to explore alternative educational options that match the unique learning needs of their child, or coaching families through transitions that can result in school refusal, anxiety, or malaise that negatively impacts school, my approach is warm, attentive, and supportive.