More about me

Thank goodness I never got into grad school.

I originally believed that going to grad school would help me figure out who I want to be “someday.” I wrote in my application about becoming a school district leader or the head of an education non-profit. The picture I painted of my future was fuzzy, because, honestly, even I couldn’t quite see it. When the prestigious program of my dreams said “thanks-but-no-thanks,” I needed to head back to the drawing board. Little did I know it would be one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.

After struggling to find programs aligned to my particular constellation of passions, I decided to build my own grad school, grounded in carefully-selected projects, guided by mentors who believe in me, and rooted in my adopted hometown of Oakland. My self-designed curriculum has included working in fields beyond public education; organizing alongside and learning from lifelong activists; studying racial justice theory and practice; and leveraging my existing continuous improvement knowledge in new ways to meet emergent needs.

One day recently, a colleague asked me about my professional goals. I said, “Well, after some of the exploration I’ve done lately, I think I want to be a learning experience designer, group facilitator, improvement coach, and racial justice organizer.” After a pause, I added, “Hm, I guess I already AM those things!”

I’m grateful to have discovered that the kind of change maker I want to be is the one I already am. Now I seek additional opportunities to grow as a designer, facilitator, coach, and organizer so that I can better support others in building a more just future.

The challenges we face are overwhelming and problem-solving is needed on so many levels if we are going to bridge division and build communities where everyone is seen, heard, and valued. Let’s work together to build the world we all want to live in.

A little about my journey

I work part-time with the CORE districts, eight of the largest urban school districts in California, to apply continuous improvement methods at the school-site and central office levels. I design professional learning programs, such as CORE’s 8-day Local Improvement Facilitator Course, in addition to serving as a lead improvement advisor for CORE’s 9th Grade On-Track collaborative, the Breakthrough Success Community. I also provide one-on-one coaching to leaders guiding the work of improvement teams. Outside of CORE, I work as an independent improvement advisor, partnering with clients who hold a deep commitment to equity and continuous learning. My partnerships have included a variety of organizations serving young people in non-profit, school-site, university, and museum settings. 

Prior to my current practice, I spent four years at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, where I apprenticed with leading thinkers in education and quality improvement. At Carnegie, I contributed to the dramatic growth of improvement science as an approach to systems change in education. I created improvement science learning experiences in conference, workshop, and online settings, including the EdX online course, “Improvement Science in Education,” which has been taken by more than 10,000 learners around the world. I have facilitated sessions for 9 years at Carnegie’s annual Summit on Improvement in Education and also have presented about my work at the American Education Research Association (AERA) annual conference. While at Carnegie, I worked as an improvement specialist within the hubs of both the Building a Teaching Effectiveness Network (BTEN) and the Carnegie Math Pathways networked improvement communities, in addition to facilitating a professional learning community of graduate school faculty teaching improvement methods in their various university settings. 

I began my career teaching high school English as a Second Language in San Antonio, Texas. I remain connected to many of my former students, providing mentorship and support as they navigate college and the workforce. I also serve my Oakland community as a college application mentor for College Track, as a recent fellow with Pathways to Equity, and as an organizer with Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), where I engage other white people in anti-racist study and action.

Outside of work and activism, I love backpacking and salsa dancing, two very opposite yet endlessly-rewarding hobbies. I hold a B.A. in Latin American Studies, Spanish, and Education from Washington University in St. Louis, and am originally from Madison, Wisconsin.