I teach AP Environmental Science and Ecology/Environmental Science here at LHS. I have been teaching science classes and labs since I was a sophomore in college.  I earned an undergraduate degree in Biology with a concentration in Environmental Biology, a minor in Chemistry, and secondary teaching certification. After working for several conservation organizations, including the Nature Conservancy, I completed my master’s degree at KU in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. My specialization was in the ecology and conservation of tropical birds, with field work and coursework in Costa Rica and Oaxaca, Mexico.  I worked for a while in the field of environmental consulting, as a Geographic Information Specialist.  However, I missed teaching and came back to education by teaching part-time at KU and Highland Community College.  I moved to a full-time  position teaching Biology and Advanced Biology at Southwest Junior High (now SWMS) and taught there for nine years.  When the freshmen moved to high school, I transitioned with them and have been teaching at LHS since then.  I think science should be FUN and I love to share my real world biology experiences with students.  My teaching style is to incorporate as many hands-on labs and activities as possible.  My science heroes are Bill Nye the Science Guy and Miss Frizzle from the Magic School Bus because they have shown us how cool science can be!

I have been awarded a 2022-2023 Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms award by the US Department of State, which means I will be participating in a global education course and symposium during the year and I will be part of an international classroom exchange in 2023. Last year I had the joy of sailing as a Science Communication Fellow with the Ocean Exploration Trust and I got to teach classes all over the world, including my own classes at LHS, from the ship, E/V Nautilus.  I was the 2020 KEEP Konza Teacher of the Year, Earthwatch Teacher Fellow in 2009 and 2017, and I was chosen as a member of the Toyota International Teacher Program in the Galapagos Islands in 2010.