I was born in Alabama then moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when I was one year of age.  In Albuquerque I went through the school system in Albuquerque Public Schools. I graduated from Sandia Highschool and went straight to the University of New Mexico.  My first degree was in English.  I thought I might be a bestselling novelist.   

I wound up with a variety of jobs including selling cars.  All through college my mom had told me that I should be a teacher or counselor.  I of course did not listen.  I ended up teaching skiing at Sandia Peak Ski Area.  I loved teaching, but made little money working at the ski area. Finally, my mom sat me down and asked me to go back to school to become a teacher.  I listened and graduated from College of Santa Fe that later became Santa Fe University of Art and Design.   

I moved from Albuquerque to Baytown Texas to start my career as a 3rd grade teacher in a brand-new school.  The cabinets had not even been installed 2 days before we were to start class.  The start of school had to be moved back due to Hurricane Andrew.  I stayed in Texas for two years before returning to Albuquerque.  

 I taught a summer camp in 1994 for a Montessori School before taking a job as a 3rd grade teacher at Bel Air Elementary School which was part of APS.  We started many programs including bringing in Character Counts as a school solution to living in an area where there were many gangs.  Once a national news outlet interviewed some of our students about Character Counts, it was so exciting being a part of this movement.  I ended up moving to Colorado Springs because my husband at that time started a job with Lockheed Martin.  I fell in love with Colorado. 

In the fall of 1998, I secured a job with Colorado Springs School District 11 where I have been fortunate to serve this district in many ways.  I left classroom teaching to become an instruction coach for several schools. I worked as a staff developer for about 10 years.  I missed being in the classroom.  Mr. Martinez gave me the opportunity to work in the Eagles Program where I work today teaching a multi-age class.   

I live in Colorado Springs with my husband Adrian, my two dogs, and now two rats (they were supposed to be classroom pets).  I love gardening, hiking, working out, and learning all that I can about this amazing world.