About Me

The 2019-2020 academic year is my 21st as an educator in our public schools. I have taught World History and Geography, United States History, AP US History, Economics, and American Government.  I am currently the Categorical Programs Advisor–also known as the Title 1 Coordinator–at an LA area high school.

I grew up in Norwalk, California and graduated from Norwalk High School in 1992. Immediately after high school I attended UCLA. I graduated Summa Cum Laude from UCLA in 1997 with a double major Bachelor of Arts in History and Latin American Studies–and began my teaching career soon thereafter. In 2003 I completed my Master of Arts in History from the California State University Los Angeles. In 2009 I completed my Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from CSUN.  I have my Tier 1 School Administration Credential.

I am also the Primary Leader/Coach for Santee Students Run LA.  This year was my 13th year running the program at Santee, and I ran my 15th marathon in March of 2020.  Over the past decade I have trained over 300 for the Los Angeles Marathon.  SRLA provides students with an excellent opportunity to set goals and accomplish an amazing feat–run 26.2 miles.

Some of my interests include history, travel, music, foreign and independent films, and the great metropolis that is Los Angeles. During the summer of 2011, I was able to combine my love for traveling and music. I traveled to England, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco–and saw Bjork in concert in Manchester, England, and Animal Collective in concert in Lisbon, Portugal. Four summers ago, I traveled once again to Europe, spending time in Barcelona, Spain and Berlin, Germany. This trip was especially insightful as I was able to visit Berlin–a city which played such a pivotal role in World War II and the Cold War. During the summer of 2013, I traveled to Berlin again, Istanbul, Vienna, and Prague. In the Summer of 2014 I river rafted in a Glacial River and hiked the Sólheimajökull Glacier in Iceland, walked the streets of Paris, and took up some Sun in Spain.

I combined my love for travel and exploration with education with my participation in TGC. I was awarded a grant for Summer Travel 2015 with Teachers for Global Classrooms–a program funded by the Department of State’s Bureau on Educational and Cultural Affairs.  I spent the first 2.5 weeks of my time in Brazil learning about the Brazilian educational system, participating in numerous Round Table Discussions with American and Brazilian educators, and making several presentations to Brazilian students and educators about American History, my school, and the American educational system.  I extended my stay in Brazil upon completion of the TGC program–spending some time in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

After my nearly month long visit to Brazil, I finished Summer 2015 off with a trip to  Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Spain [Sevilla and Barcelona]–enjoying some Danish Open Faced Sandwiches, dancing and singing with ABBA at The ABBA Museum, and experiencing Flamenco in Sevilla.  Finally, while in Barcelona, I was able to see björk perform at the Poble Espaynol.

I spent a month in Europe during the summer of 2016.  Most of that summer was spent in Germany, as I was selected to be a part of the Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP) Study Tour.  A group of 14 educators visited Frankfurt, Leipzig, and Berlin–learning about modern Germany, the refugee crisis that was gripping Europe that year, as well as the German educational system.

Finally, summer 2019 I was able to visit Cuba.  I spent 10 days exploring old Havana, Vinales, and Trinidad.