A native of Bozeman, Montana, I moved to San Antonio in 1993.  Before coming to Hidden Forest, I taught music at Bulverde Creek and Longs Creek Elementary with NEISD and at Concordia Lutheran School.  I graduated from The University of Texas at San Antonio with a K-12 Music Education Degree.  In May of 2003, I completed a Master's in Music Education from UTSA with a specialization in Elementary Music and Assessment Strategies for the Elementary Music Classroom.  I hold all three levels of Orff Schulwerk certification from Trinity University and am a certified Orff teacher trainer with the American Orff Schulwerk Association.  In December of 2009, I completed a Master's in Educational Administration and passed my Texas principal certification test. In 2018, I was named the Hidden Forest Teacher of the Year and the NEISD Elementary Teacher of the Year.  In November of 2018, I was awarded the KENS 5 Credit Human Excellence in Teaching Award. In the fall of 2020, I started work on a Doctorate in Musical Arts degree at Boston University and am currently ABD (all but dissertation).  My free time is spent writing, revising, and fine tuning the document known as a dissertation.  My research interest is in student creativity and student agency.   

NEISD does not currently employ full-time certified art teachers on all of its elementary campuses.  Your student will attend art one time each week with lessons created by me and carried out by a paraprofessional. I fill the role of Campus Art Coordinator at Hidden Forest.  This is why you will get communication, Twitter posts, and help requests from me directed at both music and the visual arts.  While music is my specialty, I am growing and learning in the area of visual arts and hope to support all of our students under the umbrella of "The Arts!" 

I love sharing musical experiences and teach at several summer music camps for kids throughout the San Antonio area and serve on the summer staff at Trinity Universities Orff Schulwerk Teacher Education Course. I also present 'teacher' workshops throughout the United States and Canada.  I have served on the Board of Directors of the Central Texas Orff Chapter, a division of the American Orff Schulwerk Association and as the president of the National Association for Music Education -Texas.  I serve as an adjunct professor at both Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, teaching Music for Diverse Learners, Music in Childhood, Music and Related Arts, and Technology for Music Education Majors.  In July of 2014, I finished up my term on the editorial review board of General Music Today, a NAfME publication, and as the K-12 General Music Chair for the NAfME-Texas.  In March of 2010, I had the honor of performing with the UTSA Women's Alumni Choir at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Dr. Gary Mabry. In 2017, I joined the SA Symphony Link-Up Education Team and also serve as a member of the San Antonio Symphony Education committee. 

When I am not making music, I enjoy quilting, reading, and traveling with my wonderful husband, Don!