A "Navy Brat" as a child, I moved around during my K-12 years, then settled down in Southern California for college at Long Beach State earning my bachelor's degree and teaching certificate. I spent thirteen years at Aeolian Elementary, a Los Angeles County, Title 1 school with 96% of the student population being Hispanic and over 60% English Language Learners. Ten of those thirteen years were in the classroom teaching grades K-2, while three of those years were spent at a TOSA assignment as the Curriculum Coordinator. Teaching reading to ELL learners is one of my favorite teaching memories. It is amazing how much primary-aged students can learn in one school year. I got the "Alaska bug" in 2010 and moved to Kodiak for six months before accepting an Instructional Coach position in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. My six years at KPBSD has been a combination of mentoring, coaching, and professional development positions. On the home front, I have had the pleasure of raising three children and watching them grow into young adults. Currently, I have a daughter who is a senior at Kenai Central High School, a son who is employed here on the Kenai, and another son recently graduated from Fullerton State University and resides in Huntington Beach, California. Mentoring and coaching is an opportunity to build capacity in the next generation of teachers and I look forward to working with them each year!