I was born in New York, about an hour away from New York City. I have lived in State College since 2007, and have taught at YSCP since 2008. I received my undergraduate degree in from Wagner College in Staten Island New York.  Here I received my B.A. in history with a minor in anthropology. Through this college, I had the amazing opportunity to go to Cusco, Peru on an archaeological dig.  I was a site supervisor at Chokepukio, an ancient Wari and Incan temple. To complete my degree, I wrote several research papers including how socioeconomic status affected everyday life in the 18th and 19th century kitchen. For this I worked at various hands on restoration villages throughout New York for several years, immersing myself in history.

For graduate school, I got my MSEd at The College of Saint Rose in Albany New York.  There I completed a detailed research project on the effectiveness of various spelling programs from grades K-5th.

In my free time, I love to play computer games, especially strategy based games that require you to think and plan ahead. A huge animal lover, I have two cats, fish, and a classroom Corn snake named Smaug. I have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember.  I strongly believe the key to this was that my parents read to me every single night, even when I was older and most parents thought their children were too old to enjoy it. Reading should be engaging, fun, the child should lose themselves in the text, whether it be a fictional story in Neverland or a non fiction book of information about the ocean.

I work part-time at Outback Steakhouse, so stop in sometime and say hello!