Hello! I am so excited to be joining the Highland Lakes family this year! This is my third year teaching in the Deer Valley Unified School District. However, I am not new to this district. I have worked as a substitute teacher here, 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 opporutnities. It was also during our time overseas that I first dipped my toe into writing.

Along with returning to traditional teaching, I am now a freelance writer and contribute to several magazines, both local and national, as well as writing for a popular parenting website. And I am ecstatic to say that my debut novel releases from Revell Books in Spring 2021.

I cannot express enough how excited I am to be teaching 7th grade ELA this year! 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 freshman at Deer Valley, and a 7th and 3rd grader right here at HLS!) - and usually drinking coffee. There's always coffee.

I anticipate a wonderful year together!