About Me

I was born in New York City and raised in Warwick, New York, a friendly, small town just over the northern New Jersey border. Warwick is full of apple orchards and open space, and it has grown considerably since I lived there. When I was in high school, my parents told me that if I wanted to go to college, I would need to get a job and start saving. So that’s what I did. I started as a bus girl at the Chateau Hathorn, the nicest restaurant in town; I worked my way up to waitress and saved my money. This job (and the good tippers!) supported my pursuits as a first-generation college student.   

When it came to choosing a major, I figured this out pretty early on. In eighth grade, my classmates were memorizing SOH CAH TOA and the trigonometric values that went with it. I realized that those values could be derived from the special right triangles instead, and, when asked why I wasn't cramming for a quiz like the rest of the class, I showed my classmates how to derive the values for themselves. Mathematics made sense to me as a subject a person could reason through rather than something to be memorized. What I have wanted to do ever since making my career choice is to create the conditions for students to arrive at that realization themselves.

I knew I wanted to teach, though for a while I was undecided between Spanish and mathematics. Calculus settled the question. I taught high school mathematics and college mathematics, and I enjoyed both. I returned to graduate school for a doctorate intending to teach mathematics at the college level, and, while I was there, I discovered that I also enjoyed mathematics education research. Thinking about the challenges and joys of teaching and learning math has occupied me ever since.

While teaching high school math, I caught the travel bug after discovering that I enjoyed spending my breaks exploring different parts of the world. Pursing two graduate degrees and then academic jobs led me to live in 6 states in the Eastern, Central, and Mountain time zones. Through leisure and conference travel, I’ve been to every continent except Antarctica. Switzerland and Egypt are currently high on my bucket list. I’d also like to return to Africa and South America some day.

Outside of work, I spend time with my husband and family, hike and get outdoors whenever I can, and I enjoy cooking and baking. I also love going into New York City to see shows, try new restaurants, and connect with friends and family.

A favorite quotation that has guided and motivated me in life comes from Henry Ford, who said, "If you think you can or you cannot, you are right."