Hello! I am so excited for another year at Highland Lakes! This is my sixth year teaching in the Deer Valley Unified School District. Before that, I also worked as a DVUSD substitute teacher, and attended Deer Valley schools for elementary and middle school.

I got my start in education back in 2001, teaching first grade in Flagstaff, Arizona. After that, my family and I embarked upon a grand adventure overseas that lasted nearly ten years! During that time, I was able to participate in many life-enriching activities, including non-traditional teaching opportunities. It was also during our time overseas that I first dipped my toe into writing.

Along with returning to traditional teaching, I am also an author. I am ecstatic to say that I have 2 novels that have been released by Revell Books: A Dance in Donegal and The Lady of Galway Manor. My third book, The Maid of Ballymacool, releases this coming February, and I'm contracted to write two more that are slated to release in 2024 and 2025 respectively. I also freelance and contribute to several magazines, both local and national, as well as write for a popular parenting website. 

I cannot express enough how happy I am to be teaching 7th grade ELA again this year, plus adding in a little Read 180 as well! Words are my passion, and helping kids discover a joy for writing and reading that they may not have known existed is a dream come true for me.

When I'm not teaching or writing, I'm hanging out with my family - my wonderful husband and our three kiddos (a sophomore and senior at Deer Valley High School, and a 6th grader right here at HLS!) - and usually drinking coffee. There's always coffee.

I anticipate a wonderful year together!