Behind every struggling student is a parent who never stopped believing in them. I have spent my career honoring that belief.

I know what it feels like to sit across from a young person who has been told — in a hundred different ways — that they’re too much, not enough, or simply wired wrong. I’ve watched mothers walk into meetings exhausted, carrying years of worry, wondering if anyone will finally see what they see in their child. That moment — when someone truly sees a kid for who they are — is what got me into this work, and it’s what keeps me here.

If you want to know who I am, start with my Border Collies. I share my home with a working pack of eleven, training them together for herding competitions — a pursuit that demands patience, trust, and a deep respect for the unique personality of every animal in the pack. No two dogs think alike. No two respond the same way. That truth has shaped everything about how I work with students.

For five years, I had the privilege of coaching students at Syracuse University’s OnTrack program within the Center for Disability Resources — walking alongside young people at one of the most vulnerable transitions of their lives.

That work grew from more than three decades in special education — public, private, therapeutic, and international IB school settings. I approach every student through a lens of intersectional identity. My role is never to fix. It is to meet students exactly where they are, and walk with them as they begin to trust who they already are.

What I am ultimately working toward with every student is balance — an authentic sense of self that leads to resonance, acceptance, and a quiet but powerful sense of belonging.