I am thrilled to have my dream job as an advanced math specialist! I have been in District 105 for over 15 years, having taught sixth grade accelerated math, advanced ELA (formerly the SAIL program), and fifth grade at Spring Avenue before joining the Advanced Academics Department. I continue to teach the district’s 5th grade accelerated math class and feel priveleged to begin our students' accelerated journey with them. I also have thirteen years experience teaching middle school math before coming to D105. I am a south sider, (Go White Sox!), living with my husband and a few of our four children. My oldest son, Sean, works in the technology industry. My daughter Maggie finished her masters degree in linguistics and is taking a gap year before starting her doctorate. My son Ryan just graduated with a degree in Business Administration,  and my youngest daughter, Molly, is in high school,  keeping busy as the neighborhood dog sitter.  When I am not busy with my kids, I enjoy cooking, gardening, puzzles and playing math games. 

I am very happy to be part of the D105 team! I love exploring the wonder and beauty of mathematics with students. I began my career in business and switched to teaching to pursue a path that was more personally fulfilling. I’ve been teaching for over eight years, mostly in middle school math. I’m excited to teach 6th Accel Math (middle school math is my first love!) but also to embrace my new challenge working with K - 4 as a math specialist. 

When I’m not teaching, I love being outdoors (exploring, hiking, swimming, kayaking) and spending time with my family. My husband, Mike, is an intellectual property consultant who loves building and fixing things. He completely rehabbed our first home in Elmhurst and is now working on a coffered ceiling in our new home. We have three sons. Our oldest, Jonathan, is studying finance and applied and computational math and statistics at Notre Dame and is planning to begin his career in investment banking. Our middle son, Matthew, is an artist (clay sculpture) and is studying engineering at Notre Dame. Our youngest son, Luke, has just graduated from high school and is looking forward to studying at Hillsdale College in Michigan. Our fourth boy is a furry golden retriever named Oliver who loves playing fetch and making everyone happy.

I am thrilled and feel blessed to be one of the advanced mathematics specialists at D105, and working with kindergarten through fourth grade students and sixth grade students in accelerated math.  I have been an educator for over 18 years, mostly working with middle school students.  I absolutely love teaching Mathematics, and I am passionate about implementing innovative strategies that support students’ conceptual understanding and have it transfer over to real world contexts.  I promote the development of a growth mindset and want to instill a love of learning.  I consider myself a  continuous learner of Mathematics, and have spent an exponential amount of time growing my mathematical knowledge and expertise. I am currently a doctoral candidate working on my dissertation at Illinois Institute of Technology.  Aside from teaching and learning, I love spending time with my family, especially with my partner, Mark, our son, Nico, and our pug, Sunshine. 

I have worked in D105 as a Math Specialist for many years.  I love teaching students how to THINK mathematically and logically.  This year I will be challenging mathematicians in grades K-4 to persevere in their problem solving as they see math EVERYWHERE in their world.  Whenever I get a chance I love to brag about my family.  I have 2 wonderful sons.  Nathan is a Special Operations Captain in the US Army and is currently stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, NC. and Joel is an accomplished photographer, as well as a professional tutor and teaching assistant at COD. Walter, my husband, consults for an IT firm but is better known for his homemade jams and baked goods.  In my spare time I enjoy playing with and cuddling our dog Oso, doing puzzles of all types and gardening in my backyard oasis.  

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious. – Albert Einstein