About Dr. J

I am a Colorado native and love almost any activity that gets me outdoors - I mostly love to run, ski, and hike. I've run about 15 half marathons. I hike mostly with my dad, and together, we have climbed 17 of Colorado's "fourteeners" (mountains taller than 14,000 feet). I spent last summer climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world at 19,341'!!

I grew up in Littleton and graduated from the International Baccalaureate program at Littleton High School (go Lions!). I played the flute in the marching band and was Drum Major my senior year. I went to college at the University of Colorado at Boulder (go Buffs!) where I majored in Math and Economics, and spent much of my free time playing the piccolo in the Golden Buffalo Marching Band. I went to graduate school at Duke University (go Blue Devils!) where I earned a Masters and Doctorate in Economics (hence the Dr. in Dr. J!).

After earning my PhD, I spent 2 years working in Boston for a professor at Harvard Business School, during which time I rediscovered my passion for teaching. I have spent the past 2 years teaching economics at the University of Colorado Denver and Metropolitan State University of Denver. I really enjoyed teaching college, but found that I wasn't able to spend as much time helping students succeed as I would have liked. I wanted to be able to invest more in student relationships than I was able to do in the college environment. After teaching a summer course in Behavioral Economics to incoming 9th graders in DPS through MSU Denver's Center for Urban Education, I made the decision to transition into teaching high school, and I don't suspect I'll ever look back. I am thrilled to be a part of the math team at DSA, and look forward to all the adventures yet to come.