Ms. Jennifer McKenzie

Hi there! I'm Ms. Jennifer McKenzie, a current Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms scholar! I'm a a 5 x Teacher of the Year and currently the K12 District Teacher Librarian in Siuslaw School District, Florence, Oregon. I've been an educator for 19 years (previously English Language Arts, secondary and post-secondary education). I champion reading advocacy, information and media literacy, digital citizenship and district wide technology integration. It's an honor to be a Future Ready Librarian presenter and podcaster, an ISTE presenter, and I also serve as a board member for the Oregon Association of School Libraries to continually advocate for statewide literacy and library media science standards.

I'm also a former U.S. Army Medical Service Corps Officer!

Naturalist

I am at peace and feel most aligned with the universe when immersed in nature! My family loves paddleboarding, swimming, hiking and hunting for agates at the beach. We are super fortunate to live in the Siuslaw National Forest with infinite access to Oregon's State Parks.

Mixed Media Artist

I create nature inspired, sometimes abstract, mixed-media artwork in my spare time. I love working with textiles, embroidery, dyes, inks and watercolor. I like to experiment with plant-based dyes created from my own yard. I also keep an art journal when I travel to document my adventures!

Animal Advocate

I LOVE collaborating with our local Oregon Coast Humane Society for school curricular and service-learning purposes, and my family has also adopted Orion (this cutie above) as well as Bloom and Piper, two sweet kitties from the shelter.