I am an English Language Arts educator in Tacoma. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania amongst the Amish and Mennonite communities there and was the first person in my family to attend college. My father is part of a large working-class community of truck drivers in southeastern Pennsylvania.  I first learned the art of storytelling from him while riding with him on his cross-state trips as a kid. He invented stories to tell me and encouraged me to read to him in between episodes of retro-radio on the AM dial. I've had the opportunity to live in the U.K. briefly, as well as North Carolina before I recently made my home in Washington. 



I love the smell of a campfire, exploring the outdoors, curling up with my two cats, Oslo and Nova, while watching a good film, and of course, reading and writing every day. I love my students, and my main goal during the school year is making sure that I give them a safe space to learn and grow together.