OUR TEAM

I discovered my love for working with young people back when I was a drama counselor and then Counselor-in-Training program lead at sleepaway camp. I was so touched by the deep relationships I was able to form with campers in a space that centered fun and community and growth and adventure.

This love, and the sense of fulfillment from making a meaningful difference in young people’s lives, led me to eventually pursue my Master’s in Social Work. I wanted to become a therapist and work with young people. However, returning to school as an adult, I was newly disturbed by the culture of condescension, of overwork, of dehumanization and domination with which schoolish institutions treat students. I pivoted to School Social Work. I would be the one to fix the system.

Once I found myself in public school, I woke up from this grand delusion quickly. There I was, working hard to do good by young people and their families, and at best I felt like a nice prison guard. I yearned for something different, to run free with kids in a place that they loved, and that loved them back. And then I found TCC.

What a profound joy it is to walk alongside the young people here, to know them as whole people, and to offer myself as a whole person. Here, I’m not a social worker; I’m a confidant, a facilitator, an advocate, and playmate. I’m also a baker, a poet, an actor, a gamer, an activist, a witch, an animal and nature lover… and whatever else I may become. There is nowhere I would rather be.

I love the forest and I love talking about (and to) trees and other plants. If we hike together I’m likely to launch into a Fact Blast about the plants on our route. I’m a messy creative person, and I enjoy tinkering and making things with my hands. I do also like words, and food (I love a good salad). I’m a silly billy. I will probably give you a nickname if we meet and most especially if that’s ok with you. The young people here say I forget things often and am “kind of weird but in a good way.”

Becoming a mama to three young people and recovering from my role as a conventional public educator catapulted me into the world of Self-Directed Education. In hindsight, some of the seeds for SDE were scattered for me early on in my time teaching in public schools, when I learned how young people develop mathematical understandings without adult instruction or intervention of any kind. I learned the power and magic of actually listening to kids and getting out of their way. I was passionate about spreading these new awarenesses from within the system, and thought the more credentials and accomplishments I had under my belt, the more likely folks would listen, and that I could change the system from the inside out. I became nationally board certified. I pursued post-graduate work. I mapped my path to a PhD. I taught other teachers. I co-authored a book with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

I didn’t and couldn’t change the system.

I hope I was able to meaningfully connect with the young people in my care. Maybe I scattered some seeds for others. But school kept on schooling, schoolishly, and I left when I became a mother. Not long after, Emily and I found each other, and we co-founded TCC.

These days I am passionate about disrupting and divesting from oppressive systems…and dreaming, building new worlds, and practicing futures in the present. I am passionate about youth liberation. Spending my days at TCC with the young people here is a profound privilege.

I am thrilled to be here! My journey into motherhood is where this all began for me. 

Years ago, and having come from a traditional background with a passion for music, from conventional schools to a master's degree in education, I had become part of the public school system as an orchestra teacher. Craving something different for my family, I wanted to change how I thought about education and what that could look like for us. This led to my becoming conscious of the harmful system of schooling and having been a cog in the wheel of that system, having done harm to children there myself. This realization has continued to propel me forward in my journey of deschooling - working with children of all ages and learning what it means to truly have their back and to be an advocate for them. 

As a recovering educator, I believe that genuine curiosity, shared experiences, loads of silliness and laughter, and PLAY (especially outside and in the forest!)  are at the heart of building relationship with young people. Being a musician and a lifelong double bassist, I know we are stronger when we listen and play together, when we join in mutual harmony to become our fullest selves.