About Me

A Lehigh Valley native, I recently returned to the area after spending ten years in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I attended Nazareth Area High School (Class of 2006) and in 2010 received my BA Summa cum laude in English and Spanish Literature from Lafayette College, which I attended on a full merit Scholarship. I attended Lehigh University for graduate school (ever the diplomat, I root for both sides during Laf-Lehigh rivalry games) and earned my MA in English Secondary Education with PA teaching certificate in 2012.

After graduation, I moved to Fayetteville, NC and took my first teaching job at Douglas Byrd High School, a Title I school serving mostly Black and Hispanic students. I was entrusted to teach English I and English II (9th-10th grade), the course attached to the state's high-stakes assessment. While there, I revitalized the school's Speech and Debate program, coaching the 2018 team to the NSDA District Tournament, and grew in my practice enough to be elected English Department Chair, mentoring beginning teachers and leading decision-making and policy implementation.

After five years, I left Douglas Byrd to teach English I and English II Honors (9th grade) at Cumberland Polytechnic High School, an innovative early college program that allows students from any school district in the county to earn both a high school diploma and an associate's degree or career certification. This program appealed to my values as an educator with its guarantee of free community college tuition and books for all students and focus on education as a means of empowerment and upward mobility. I was sad to leave, but I'm thrilled to be back home and ready to continue my service to young people in the Lehigh Valley.