2 children currently enrolled at East Point Academy

The majority of my professional/community activities occur within the context of my job as a VA psychologist, where I serve on multiple committees, including our Psychology Training Committee as a clinical supervisor and our Patient Education Committee.

As a single mother to very busy children, the majority of my volunteer activities are directly related to the activities in which they're involved, including being a regular volunteer for backstage for performances or providing volunteer support to one of the largest sport karate tournaments in the Southeast hosted annually by the dojo my children attend.

As a clinical psychologist, I have provided behavioral medicine and brief, skills-focused counseling services to Veteran's for almost 10 years. Providing these services in the population-based care environment of Primary Care has afforded me the opportunity to support, encourage, empower, and teach thousands of men and women who have served our country. Contact with this many different people when they are their most vulnerable has taught me the importance of patience, validation, compassion, and encouragement in order to assist people with making important changes in their lives. Change can scary, but in the best cases can also be a sign of growth. From these experiences with everyday people, I would bring to the Board an expertise in human behavior change and growth, and the ability to help people identify what's important to them and work hard to engage in activities that move them towards those values. This is a perspective that can be applied to all members of the East Point Academy Family to promote our school's continued growth towards it's greatest potential.

I perform my job duties in the context of a multidisciplinary medical team, including physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, and social workers, that comes together in support of improving Veterans' emotional and physical well-being. It's a very non-traditional form of MH care that requires flexibility, willingness to work as a team, a holistic approach to understanding people's wellness needs, and most importantly clear communication and respect for fellow team members of all disciplines in order to build trusting relationships. From these experiences, I would bring to the Board exemplary communication skills, the ability to take into account different perspectives with regard to problem solving and goal setting, and respect for the unique contribution each member of the East Point Academy family brings to the school's unique culture in order to make it a rich and diverse learning environment.

I also serve as the program manager overseeing a team that includes over 20 members of multiple MH disciplines, namely psychiatrists, MH nurse practitioners, social workers, and psychologists. It is my responsibility to ensure that all my team members have the skills and support needed to perform their expected roles and maintain fidelity to this unique model of MH care we are tasked with providing. I take a servant leader approach to management meaning I'm often "in the trenches" with my team so that I can have a clear understanding of their daily work experiences, allowing me to provide guidance and support from a place of direct experience. As a program manager, my administrative duties also involve analyzing and evaluating employee performance data, meeting program metric goals, hiring, and managing employee grievances from a supervisory perspective. From these experiences I would bring to the Board an understanding of the important dynamics of the employee-supervisory relationship, and how to how to support and encourage employee growth and improvement by engaging in open communication and showing respect for their contributions and ideas. I would also bring knowledge and experience with Human Resources processes from a hiring manager perspective, as well as experience working with Human Resources to address reasonable accommodation requests, or EEO complaints.