A North Shore native, I graduated from Deerfield High School and attended Indiana University, where I received degrees in Elementary Education (K-9th grade) and Special Education (pre-K through age 21). I later earned an English as a Second Language certificate from Loyola University. I spent the majority of my classroom teaching experience at North Shore School District 112 in Highland Park, where I taught in the resource and general education settings. I left the school setting in 2015 to be home with my young children.

My journey to Academic Coaching began back in 2007, when I began offering private tutoring sessions to elementary and middle school students in Chicago and around the North Shore. Through weekly 1:1 sessions and collaboration with student teams, I worked to support students struggling in literacy and math. Over time, I became comfortable with many grade level curriculums, state standards, and online resources used by districts, and expanded my services to include high school students. I found that these young people were not reaching their academic potential due to underdeveloped organization, planning, test prep, and other Executive Function (EF) skills.

Around 2020, I delved deeper into how I could give teens and young adults, especially those diagnosed with an anxiety disorder or ADHD, access to the Executive Function strategies needed to succeed in school and beyond. I start by meeting students where they are at, and take their comfort level with various supports into account when deciding which strategies to commit to. Through consistent instruction and modeling, and various levels of prompting, students are able to strengthen and apply new EF skills over time. As an Academic Coach, my work is especially rewarding because the skills students gain can generalized and applied to so many areas of their lives. It’s incredible to see how increased independence and confidence leads to newfound success— I truly love what I do!