I’m a long-term Seattle resident who loves the arts and culture, and I have a doctorate in education. My unflagging commitment to lifelong learning, coupled with the breadth of my entrepreneurial experiences, is at the soul of my work. I strive to keep my intellectual and professional passions burning by honing my skills, reaching for new heights, and embracing change.
I recently wrapped up a position as the Executive Director of The Children’s School, a 55 year-old independent, nonprofit Montessori-based preschool serving children and families with high quality early learning. My tenure was full of challenges and successes - the most profound of those were truly collaborative in nature - including substantial program development, fundraising, relocation, and renovation projects.
I’ve lived, traveled, and taught both domestically and internationally, constantly discovering education models that entwine the formal and the informal, the traditional and the experienced-based, and use the theoretical and practical to inform one another. My goal is to knit the principles of authenticity and integrity into the spirit of everything I pursue.
I’m a ‘Renaissance woman’ - as an undergrad, I minored in Art History. Not satisfied to learn from books alone, I toured museums across Europe to complement and enhance my education. Following my BA Degree, I taught English in Taipei, Taiwan for two years. I returned to direct a collaborative exhibit between the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC and the Children’s Museum in Seattle, WA featuring an interactive interpretation of the Holocaust specially designed for middle school students and educators. The opportunity to coordinate with survivors, scholars, and historians was epic and propelled me to pursue a MA Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. To offset the cost of graduate school, I worked for a residential landscaping business. During this period she developed garden curriculum, took classes in plant identification, sat on the board of Seattle Youth Garden Works, and volunteered for the Hardy Fern Foundation. After completing my Doctorate Degree, I started my own consulting business teaming up with educators and teaching artists from Seattle’s arts community. I also taught curriculum design courses and advised graduate students at the University level. I earned formative certification through the International Sommelier Guild, accepted an internship at Chateau Ste Michelle, and went on to hold the position of Assistant Winemaker at EFESTË winery.