Education is my passion.

As the Coordinator of Teacher Recruitment and Retention at the University of Central Oklahoma I work to increase the number of teacher education graduates by strengthening school district, career tech, community college, and community agency collaborations. Specifically, I help to oversee our Bilingual and Diversity Teacher Pipeline Programs, facilitate our Teacher Leader Cohort, organize Transfer Teacher Academies, and chair the Council on Teacher Education Recruitment and Retention Committee. I also teach UCO’s graduate course on Reading Pedagogy for Prek-6 and supervise secondary mathematics student teachers.

I have my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Central Oklahoma and my Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Southern Nazarene University. I recently completed my Ph.D. in Teaching, Learning, Policy, and Leadership from the University of Maryland with a specialization in Minority and Urban Education. For my dissertation I explored how administration programs prepare educators to be social justice leaders in their schools and communities.

At the University of Maryland, I have taught or been a teaching assistant for the courses Embracing Diversity in Classroom Communities, Historical and Philosophical Perspectives of Education, Seminar in Teaching and Supervision, Urban Education, and Academic Achievement in the summer transitional program. I have been the departmental representative for the College of Education Graduate Student Organization and the chair for the Teaching, Learning, Policy, and Leadership Graduate Student Association.

Previously, I served as a Regional Coordinator with Oklahoma A+ Schools Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma, providing professional development to school leaders and teachers focused on nurturing the creativity in every learner. In 2016 I was named the DaVinci Institute’s A+ Teacher of the Year.

For six years I taught math at Harding Fine Arts Academy in Oklahoma City. During this time I also taught Senior Capstone, coordinated the advisory program, organized New Student Orientation, and coached cheer.

I have also worked for the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Department of Education.

I love Oklahoma, my family, summer camp, musicals, board games, spin class, and my dog Pi.