Amber Smith

My name is Amber Smith and I’ve been teaching since 2019 and moved to Colorado with my family in 2021. This year, I’m excited to return to my roots in math education—a subject I previously taught in Oklahoma and have always loved. While teaching math in Oklahoma, I was honored to receive the "Twenty Under 2" award, which recognized me as one of the top 20 educators in the state for my innovation and use of technology in the classroom.

I’ve taught both math and science and enjoy both because they are two sides of the same coin. I've often said that math is really the science of patterns and reasoning. Growing up in Oklahoma, I was surrounded by nature and dramatic weather, which sparked my lifelong interest in science and the outdoors. After high school, I moved to Alaska and worked on fish conservation and water quality projects in the remote islands of the Southwest Passage. I quickly realized I needed to follow my passion for math and systems, and ended up spending the next decade in the financial world as a trader and financial analyst. That experience, along with my deep interest in patterns, problem-solving, and real-world applications, continues to shape the way I teach math today.

I’ve lived in Alaska, Oregon, Oklahoma, and—saving the best for last—now Colorado. In my free time, I love hiking, kayaking, paddle boarding, and camping with my husband and son.