I'm excited to meet you!
As a teacher and educational designer with over a decade of experience teaching kids and adults, I love helping students to better understand themselves and the world around them through the art of writing. I believe that my job as an educator is to help students develop the skills and mindsets to become confident young adults, so we focus on providing students with support and resources while also encouraging them to explore their own creativity and critical thinking. We prioritize not only academic achievements but also personal growth, guiding students towards becoming engaged citizens who can speak and write passionatly about what they love. By integrating real-world issues into our lessons and exploring students personal and family narrative, we empower students to become engaged citizens who can articulate their thoughts and ideas clearly.
About Me.
I grew up in Walnut, California and attended Troy High School. While still in high school, I started teaching kids writing using fantasy roleplaying games to make fiction writing fun and exciting. After high school, I studied English literature and piano performance at Lawrence University, but the whole time I was flying home to Los Angeles periodically to keep teaching!
After graduating from Lawrence University, I returned to the San Gabriel Valley and started Foundry Academy, a writing school and after-school program based in Walnut, California. Foundry Academy taught thousands of kids over four years. We didn't stop at teaching kids how to write. Our philosophy was (and is) that writing is a tool to help kids understand the world around them better. Through writing and fantasy story telling, we helped kids imagine new speculative worlds. We taught kids about social justice issues through imagining fictional societies where social norms and taboos are different, and we invited internationally respected guest speakers to the school to teach kids how these ideas connected to real-world problems.
Eventually, I sold Foundry Academy in order to attend Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. My masters degree in Technology, Innovation, Education allowed me to dig deeply into the academic theory of education, studying how education is deeply entwined with issues of access, equity, and racial and social justice.
After working at charter schools, nonprofits, consulting firms, and finance companies for almost a decade, I returned to my entrepreneurial roots, started a new education company in 2016. Initially I started teaching private students again purely for fun. I enjoyed having the opportunity to make a direct impact on young people again and was constantly inspired by the creativity of young writers.
However, as Daniel and I collaborated more, it became clear we could offer a unique service—a highly personalized approach to both writing and pre-college counseling that prioritized the development of each student's unique and authentic story. We also saw a need for this service. The pre-college consulting sector is saturated with large firms dispensing generic, impersonal college preparation strategies and so-called college admissions experts peddling questionable "tactical" advice that neglects a student's personal development. We seek to address both of these gaps, offering students truly personalized coaching that not only prepares them for the college application process but also supports their personal development, ensuring they secure admission to institutions that genuinely align with their aspirations and needs.
Education
2016-2017
Master’s Degree, Technology, Innovation, Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
2009-2013
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), English and Piano Performance
Lawrence University
Reading the work of education philosophers like Alfie Kohn and Paulo Freire as part of the Harvard curriculum inspired me to rethink the ways in which we can empower students to take ownership of their learning and opened my eyes to educational inequities and the role of educators in addressing them.
My educational journey from southern California to Lawrence University, a small liberal arts college in Wisconsin, and eventually to Harvard, exemplified the transformative power of pursuing one's passions and the importance of finding the right educational fit.
Experience
2016-present
Started Foundry Writing and Pre-College Services
2020-2022
Instructional Designer
McKinsey & Company
2018-2020
Blended Learning Design Associate
The Obama Foundation
2017
STEM Project Lead and STEM Teacher
Parachute Teachers
2016-2017
Equity Coach
Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School
2013-2016
Managing Director and Lead STEM/Writing
Foundry Academy
Since starting Foundry Writing, Daniel and I have been privileged to help hundreds of students master academic and creative writing. Our pre-college counseling students have also been accepted to top colleges and placed competitively in writing competitions, including for the New York Times and Young Inklings.
During my tenure as an Instructional Designer at McKinsey & Company, I was responsible for creating and developing educational content for McKinsey's diverse client base. This role allowed me to design learning materials that reached thousands of adult learners worldwide.
As a Blended Learning Design Associate at the Obama Foundation, I organized educational programs for young community leaders, worked with community groups to make our trainings were more inclusive, and guided our content team to create engaging and meaningful learning experiences.
As a STEM Project Lead and Teacher at Parachute Teachers in Boston, MA, from January to May 2017, I conducted game-based educational technology and arts workshops in Boston Public Schools. Additionally, I developed and facilitated a STEM micro-credential program aimed at assisting STEM professionals with curriculum development in the classroom.
As an Equity Coach at the Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School in Brooklyn, NY, I analyzed the impact of existing school policies and programs on racial equity. My responsibilities included drafting a comprehensive year-long equity diagnosis and action plan to enhance integration, as well as providing research and organizational support to the school's racial equity team.
As the founder and director of Foundry Academy in Walnut, CA, I led the establishment of a vibrant learning community that redefined education for children from 3rd through 8th grade. Foundry Academy pioneered an innovative approach to education, using game-based learning and interdisciplinary project-based classes to blend STEM and writing into a curriculum that sparked creativity, critical thinking, and a love for learning. Our unique approach ultimately resulted in the publication of 27 student-authored novels, 2 magazines, and numerous podcasts.