Having been raised as number 11 of 12 children, it never occurred to me to be a teacher. I always thought, because of my love for science, that I would work in a lab where there would be peace and quiet and not much interaction except with specimens. I started working for the NASA contractor, Rockwell International, where I was a procurement associate and interfaced with purchasing and engineering and supported the shuttle program.

When my children were born, my husband and I decided to move to a smaller town that felt safer then Los Angeles, and chose Cheney, Wash. I went back to school at Eastern Washington University and majored in both biology and education. I volunteered at the local high school and found I loved working with teenagers. I graduated with a degree in both biology and education and went on to teach math and science at a middle school.

After a year teaching, I went back to get my master's degree in teaching at-risk youth at Gonzaga University. Within a year of graduating, I was accepted to the doctoral program in order to finish the research I had started as a master's degree student. I am a year away from graduating with my doctorate in leadership with my dissertation on science education. I continue to work teaching science at the middle school and also work with Eastern Washington University in order to teach science methods courses.

In addition to teaching, I work on the Washington State Science Assessment Leadership Team in order to help work on the state assessment, as well as look at the state standards and review them. Since accomplishing my certification with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in 2004, I now facilitate National Board candidates for Gonzaga University.

My passions outside of education include my two daughters, one who is a freshman in college and the other who is a senior in high school. My husband and I love to camp, fish, and bicycle.