I am excited to join the High Tech High Graduate School of Education School Redesign team this year as the Director of Innovation and Pedagogy. My passion in this work lies in the hope that we, as educators, can create transformative learning experiences for students. After graduating from the University of Virginia, I worked in a variety of school settings as both a teacher and coach. I taught for two years in the Peace Corps in Namibia. This was a life-changing experience for me because until the Peace Corps I had never considered teaching as what I wanted to do with my life. After two years of teaching in a rural setting in Namibia, I made connections that still impact me to this day. And I realized that I wanted to serve kids as an educator. As a K12 teacher, I taught in Fluvanna County (VA), the Dominican Republic, and High Tech High for a total of 17 years. In my classroom, we approached controversial and heavy topics, but I always tried to bring creativity, fun, and playfulness into my work with students. That is still important to me today as most of my work has shifted to working with adults.
Through High Tech High, I have been able to serve as a Professional Learning Coordinator as well as an Instructional Coach for the last three years. I have helped organize our Deeper Learning Conference as well as create and lead professional development for educators that have visited the High Tech High campus. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to travel around the US and Internationally to lead professional development and coach teams of teachers in PBL and Deeper Learning. In conjunction with my work at HTH, I also have been an instructional coach for the University of Pennsylvania for the last three years, and I have led cohorts of teachers from all over the US in this work. The things that get me fired up in working with adults are the same things that got me fired up with working with students. I want to work in a team where we are all growing together as learners — where we take “”our hats off”” and can bring our authentic selves to the work. I want to support work that creates transformative moments for students. This can be messy sometimes, but working on a team where everyone feels supported and inspired is really important to me. I am humbled and beyond excited to work with the School Redesign team in partnership with school districts that are eager to transform the way we do school.