I grew up in Tacoma, a city with many parallels to Everett— both diverse, working class port cities with incredible histories and difficult challenges. My high school, Franklin Pierce, offered a wide range of elective and CTE classes that sparked my interest in the arts, business, athletics, civics, and literature. Because of that, I was able to explore new and exciting possibilities for my future, and became motivated to pursue an education after high school. From there, I attended Western Washington University to earn my Bachelors Degree and studied abroad in Japan.

After graduating college, I worked for a summer with the Girl Scouts of Alaska before returning to graduate school to get my Masters in Teaching from the University of Portland. I started my career as a kindergarten teacher in the Highline School District at a school with a growing Dual-Language program. Over the next few years, I taught in Title I schools in Seattle and Burlington-Edison before landing in my current role in the Lake Washington School District Gifted and Talented Program.