From a young age, I had the desire to become a teacher. Some of my most formative experiences occurred in the woods of Colorado at a summer camp. There I learned my love of the outdoors and respect for nature. For college, I attended the University of Oklahoma where I received my Bachelors of Science in Science Education. Directly after graduation, I moved to Colorado to work at an Outdoor Education Center. I then moved back to Oklahoma and began teaching high school Physics. After teaching in the public school system, I decided to go back to school and get my Masters in Science Education. Besides teaching, I have:  sky dived from over 11,000 feet; climbed eight "14'ers" in Colorado; lived in Germany for two months during high school; worked as a bellman and a ballroom/swing dance instructor. This year, my sixth at Khabele, I will continue my role as the primary Middle School Science teacher. In addition to teaching classes, I am also the Director of the Middle School. This is a position that I hold with great honor. It is with great pride that I take the reigns of the Middle School program and I am proud to work with such a great team and phenomenal students.  It is so amazing to get up every morning and come to my dream job.

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My first experience with teaching, at the age of six, involved scratching out some astronomical diagrams on a driveway using chalky bits of rock. While our facilities at Khabele are far superior, the most important elements are still curiosity, love for learning, and the excitement and joy of sharing. I completed a B.A. in Mathematics at UT-Austin, concurrently earning a Texas Teacher's Certification in Secondary Mathematics and supporting myself by private tutoring. After teaching for Eanes ISD, I detoured into actuarial mathematics. While working as an actuary for 15 years, my wife Linda and I started our family. We found Khabele for our older son, Michael, who is now a sophomore. Being a part of this community inspired me to return to teaching. Our second son, Joel, is a Khabele seventh grader this year, and Linda serves on the Board of Directors.

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I will begin my fifth year teaching at Khabele. This year's lineup includes Physics, AP Physics, and Astronomy. I am also proud to serve and the Director of Math and Science. Much of my formal science education was done in Bellingham, Washington at Western Washington University, where I left the creative writing department and landed happily in the physics department. My studies have taken me to Southern Chile, Baja California, Italy, Mauna Kea, and the McDonald Observatory, which I find to be the happiest place on earth. In my spare time, I can be found practicing Ashtanga yoga, listening to Radio Lab or This American Life, conducting experiments in my kitchen, and oogling over baby Abe, second grader Henry, and my handsome husband, Nate.

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I’m in my third year at Khabele, and I absolutely love it. In addition to teaching Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science, last year I started the Outdoor Leadership Program here at Khabele. A few career highlights include:  sampling “Gatorade” yellow groundwater at a Superfund toxic waste sight in Baltimore; four weeks of field work in Bangladesh researching the Ganges River delta; watching humpback whales breach while sampling “Ice Age” marine sediment on two trips to Antarctica; presenting original research at Cambridge University that was written-up in the journal Science and Discover.com; and publishing five peer-reviewed papers on the history of glacial retreat of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet, a global warming “hot spot.” One of my proudest accomplishments was starting Blackwood Nature Camp with my wife in Hempstead, TX. I have a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from Rice University, a M.S. in Marine Science from William and Mary, and a B.A. in Geology from Colgate University. I have a beautiful wife named Erica and a one-year-old daughter named Cleo, and we all love hiking and swimming in and around Austin.

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I grew up in Michigan, attended Aquinas College, received my B.S. in Math, and discovered my love for mathematics. I embarked on a career as a high school teacher at the Metropolitan Arts Institute in Phoenix. My wife Laurie and I moved to Tennessee, where I attended the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI). I earned my Masters in Mathematics at UTSI and worked with mathematicians, engineers and scientists on problems in number theory, analysis, and software development. Following UTSI, Laurie and I moved to Austin, where I worked for National Instruments (NI) as a computer engineer. My career at NI lasted for two years. While developing and marketing software, it became abundantly clear that my heart was in math and teaching and not in engineering. About to embark on my fifth year at Khabele, I will continue teaching upper level high school mathematics, and I will serve the school as the High School Director. In addition to teaching at Khabele, I have been developing software tools and curriculum for high school math and science teachers for Transformation 2013, a collaborative effort of Education Service Center Region XIII and Region 20. Transformation 2013 is involved in the Texas High School Project and the T-STEM initiative.

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I have a B.S. in Agriculture from Cornell University, an M.A. in Botany, and a Ph.D. in Science Education from the University of Texas. Paintings I executed for my Masters thesis grace the Natural Heritage Map of Texas. As a result of work done for my dissertation on the social and academic benefits of school gardens, I won the President’s Environmental Youth Award in 1994. I am the co-author/illustrator of the top-selling Economic Botany text, now in its third edition with McGraw-Hill/Brown publishers. During my seven years as Director of Education at Zilker Botanical Garden, I created lectures and workshops for both adults and children. After being sent to Japan on a gardening internship, I served on the board of the Austin-Oita Sister City Committee and presented lectures on the “Nature and Spirit of Japanese Gardens” across the community. I also created the Plantmobile, a traveling science museum that took programs like Butterflies Across Austin and Supermarket Botany out to the schools. The Plantmobile won Keep Austin Beautiful’s first prize for Education in 1999 and 2001. In 2003, I appeared as a celebrity chef at the Let’s Get Cooking Event at Austin’s Convention Center. Since 2000, I have been leading groups of women to “Follow the Route of the Impressionists” through France. As with my other travels, slides from these trips have been used to illustrate my publications and lectures. I now do freelance writing and lecturing and head the volunteer organization Growing Gardeners, working to spread the joy of gardening across the community with the Plantmobile. I live in Austin, Texas with my husband Bob, an architect, and our two children, Mae and William.

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I truly admire people who have a passion for Mathematics. I am engrossed with mathematics, but my passion is helping young people form important questions—even (or perhaps especially) the most trivial. I still possess a journal entry from fourth grade that described a completely unique way of testing whether one number divided another. I held on to my strange invention until a college professor finally helped me algebraically prove its truth. I invented a way to multiply infinitely big numbers by 5 almost instantaneously. Sometimes the most trivial processes can be described very eloquently mathematically. As far as my professional background, I earned my BA in Mathematics from Baylor University, and my MA from the University of Texas in Mathematics Education. I worked as a statistical analyst while attending graduate school. I also lead a summer robotics course for elementary-aged children hosted by the Austin Children's Museum. This year, I will be teaching AP Statistics, Algebra II, 6th grade Mathematics, as well as leading a Robotics camp and coaching basketball.

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As the daughter of a P.I. in the Air Force, my early childhood involved a lot of travel. I've lived all over—everywhere from large, vibrant cities like Tokyo, Japan to microscopic Midwest towns like Knob Noster, Missouri. For the past ten years I have resided in Austin, Texas which I find to be a delightful mix of "city life" and "small town familiarities." I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in education and a certification in elementary education. Soon after, I accepted a job with KIPP Austin College Prep teaching fifth grade mathematics. Because the campus itself is relatively small, I was able to make connections with many of the older students over my three years there. However, I was still anxious to explore different teaching styles and methodologies. Upon voicing this, one of my former co-workers suggested I do some research about the Khabele School and see if the mission statement aligned with what I was after. After meeting with Khotso and seeing the campus, I knew I had found a school that would allow me to plant my roots and grow into a well-rounded teacher. I have finished by first year teaching at Khabele and am inspired and excited to start my second year!  I will be teaching Pre-algebra, Algebra I, Well-being 101, and Global Science. In my free time I love to hang out with my Chihuahua, Junior and try out new recipes in the kitchen.

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