Mentor Biography

2023 to Present

I taught  for 25 years in Anchorage, Alaska in the Anchorage School District. My first teaching assignment in Anchorage was as a K-3 special education resource teacher at Airport Heights Elementary for eight years. I was convinced by a colleague to become a special education teacher consultant (TC) and worked with preschool, K-12, and transition support by training staff and supporting students and families with a variety of needs at all schools in the district. I stayed in that position as TC for many years until my own children were entering high school. The job of special education (SPED) department chair (DC) opened at Dimond High School where my children would attend. I worked at Dimond High School as a SPED DC for eight years until my youngest graduated, and then I retired. Prior to Alaska, I was a general education elementary teacher for 5th and 6th grade in Parma, Ohio for five years and a self-contained primary (K-3) special education teacher for students with severe emotional needs in Pinellas Park, Florida for two years.