With a BA in Studio Art from Gustavus Adolphus College and licenses in Elementary Education and K-12 Reading from Augsburg College and Hamline University respectively, I began my career teaching grades 2-6 in Minneapolis Public Schools. Driven by a belief in everyone’s right to literacy, I trained in Orton-Gillingham as well as Structured Word Inquiry and now work to empower learners in both private settings and at Groves Learning Organization. I grew up moving across the country—from the forests of the Pacific Northwest to the bustling streets of the Bay Area, through Chicago's winters and the desert sun of Phoenix—before finding my home in Mni Sota Makoce/Gakaabikaang (Minnesota), the homeland of the Dakota and Anishinabe people. Here, I spend my days with my husband and, on the best of days, our two grown sons, friends, and family. I enjoy long walks outdoors, knitting, and reading books that take me on journeys of their own; each trail, each yarn, each page offering another world to experience. The words of ethnobotanist Robin Wall Kimmerer often echo back to me: “all flourishing is mutual.” Her words remind me that we are all stitched into each other’s stories.

I guide learners through their literacy journey by helping them make sense of English orthography, and how words are built by exploring word families, morphology (meaning), etymology (history), phonology (sounds) and grapheme choice, which is the connection between spelling and meaning. As a Structured Word Inquiry practitioner with training and experience in Orton -Gillingham, I provide personalized, one-on- one instruction. This approach supports students in building accuracy and confidence in reading, writing, and spelling. Through tailored strategies and ongoing encouragement, I help learners become independent word noticers, opening up a world of possibilities through literacy. This method works well for all students whether they have dyslexia, other diverse learning needs , are working to catch up, or excelling. Every word tells a story, and Structured Word Inquiry gives students the tools to read and write those stories with clarity, curiosity, and confidence. When we question something (<quest + ion>), we embark on a search for discovery. As one of my teachers, Dr. Peter Bowers, wisely says, “Nothing motivates like understanding.”