What experiences brought you into coaching?
I had the incredible experience to be on the team that founded Envision Learning Partners. I was half-way into my teaching career at that point and was offered the opportunity to design and create a way in which we could share some of what makes Envision special with others around the country who were interested. I spent 2 years feeling like I had gone back to grad school as we built ELP, as I was learning so much in the process! Wanting to put into practice for myself all of the rich growth I had experienced, I went back into the classroom at Envision for 5 more years. It was a natural and wonderful return to coaching in 2016 when I was able to re-join the team on this side of the organization.
What do you most enjoy about being a coach?
I feel so inspired by the brilliant educators with whom I get to cross paths and sit shoulder to shoulder while on my coaching journey. I was worried that I would miss the beautiful chaos of teenagers on a daily basis when I left teaching, but coaching provides similarly vibrant relationships with the folks I get to partner with. Coaching offers a bit of a different cognitive challenge as I get to think about units of change larger than my own classroom. This is invigorating and often makes my brain hurt in really cool ways.
What do you like to do when you are not coaching?
When not on a plane or sitting in an airport, you can find me running the trails of the incredible hills and redwood forests in the east bay, talking to every dog I pass on the sidewalk, enjoying the incredible food and wine that we have at our fingertips, traveling to far off magical lands as often as possible, cooking dinner for former students, and stepping out on a dance floor when the music is right.
