I am a PARENT.

Thomas is 16, Ellie is 14, and Sam is 11. I have parented children through gifted & talented services, a 504, an IEP, ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, and autism. Like all parents, I want what is best for my kid – and with three kids, that varies greatly with each of them. Multiple pathways and individualized learning is critical for all kids to succeed in our educational system.

I am a lifelong Bloomington resident and graduated from Kennedy High School in 1994. I am married to Andrew, a 1992 graduate. JFK Eagle blood runs thick in my family as my mother is from the first graduating class of Kennedy High School in 1966. The house my grandfather built still stands on the corner of 84th Street and 1st Avenue.

I am an EDUCATOR.

I am a licensed teacher in Minnesota, having taught middle school American History and English in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district from 1999 – 2006.

Since 2007, I have substitute taught in both Bloomington and Richfield’s Early Childhood Family Education and School Readiness programs as well as Adult Basic Education.

I received my bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas in 1998 and earned a middle school endorsement from Hamline University in 2001.

I am a LEADER.

I am beginning my third year as President of the Minnesota PTA (Parent Teacher Association). Minnesota is one of 54 congresses that make up National PTA. Minnesota has 3 district councils (Bloomington, Duluth, and Rochester), around 200 local units, and approximately 8,000 individual members.

I am the founding and current chair of the Bloomington Public Schools Advocacy Council, former chair and current member of the Community Services Advisory Board, and former president/vice-president of Bloomington PTSA Council, Hillcrest PTSA, and ECFE’s Parent Advisory Council.

I completed an Education Policy Fellowship Program in April of 2019, hosted by the Center for Policy Design in St. Paul, Minnesota and the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, D.C.

I have testified in front of the state legislature, met with congressional staff in Washington D.C., presented at numerous conferences including Minnesota School Board Association, Education Minnesota, Minnesota’s Future, and have served on several district committees and task forces.

I am READY.

I am qualified, prepared, and ready to serve on the Bloomington School Board.