I grew up in Crystal Lake, Illinois, about 45 miles from Chicago. I attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a B.A. in History and Secondary Education.

I moved to New Mexico in 1995 and began teaching at Gallup High School in Gallup, New Mexico. Since then, I have spent 27 years teaching and coaching across New Mexico. I have taught in Los Lunas, Ruidoso, Hondo Valley, and here in Los Alamos. I have been a principal at Ruidoso Middle School and at Hondo Valley Schools. I have spent the majority of my career teaching middle school and high school students. I taught for four years at Los Alamos Middle School, and coached the LAMS Wrestling team.

I moved to elementary as the principal of Chamisa in 2018. I absolutely love being an elementary principal! Chamisa is a special place, and it's my drive as principal to build in its current success. We strive at Chamisa to build on our relationships with Teamwork, Family, and Community, creating academically strong students.