My philosophy for early childhood education is rooted deeply in fostering problem solving skills, independence, and communication skills. My role as an educator is not to simply oversee the activities of children on a day to day basis, but rather help them discover and develop their abilities, creativity, and voices.

I have led a 30-year career in early childhood education as an educator, program developer, and advocate. Throughout my career, I've worked at several preschools in Portland as a lead teacher, responsible for implementing emergent curriculums that were developmentally appropriate, encouraged classroom community, and supported the health and well-being of the children. For the ten years prior to the pandemic, I owned and operated Stumptown Kids, a successful and popular Reggio-based preschool in southeast Portland.

Prior to opening Stumptown Kids, I successfully developed and implemented preschool programs throughout Portland.  As a strong proponent of the importance of art in early childhood development, I created a developmentally appropriate preschool art curriculum for parent and child classes through the Bureau of Portland Parks and Recreation. I directed these classes at Sellwood Community Center, Mt. Scott Community Center, and Matt Dishman Community Center from 1999 to 2006.

In 2003, I independently developed a preschool program at the Oregon Zoo, which gained popularity among parents and children alike over its eight year span. The two hour class engaged children ages 3-5 in animal and conservation themes in conjunction with zoo exhibits. I believe that conservation education is critical in early childhood education. Teaching children about conservation and its importance to our planet is incredibly important to me and is something that I continue to integrate into my teaching philosophy.

Early in my career, I worked at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) as an early childhood science educator where I helped to create and sustain an appropriate early childhood space within the museum. I interacted with children to help them explore and learn from exhibits and lab activities and trained, supervised, and mentored museum volunteers.

I hold a Bachelor of Science degree from Portland State University in Child and Family Studies with a specialization in Early Childhood Education. 

The spark that lit my passion for working with kids happened in high school when I volunteered to be a counselor for an outdoor education program. At 15 years old, a peer and I were put in charge of twelve 11 year old girls in a cabin and tasked to keep them safe and teach them about the forest. I expected to have fun and maybe run into some challenges along the way, but what I didn’t expect was to be transformed by the responsibility that I was given. Now, over twenty years later, I can say that this experience has continued to shape my career and influence my path.

While earning my Bachelors of Arts in Social Science from PSU, I took a term off to pursue a seasonal job as an educator for Outdoor School, the same program I volunteered for in high school. Engaging in that work helped me develop a deep love of the natural world, a high tolerance for being outside in the rain, and the desire for a career helping kids explore and succeed in their own ways. 

I continued to work seasonally for Outdoor School after graduating in 2007, and essentially lived at Camp Howard every spring and fall, while additionally working in two different preschools in the summers & winters. Shifting to work with younger kids was a challenge I welcomed, and I quickly grew to love how each day there are endless opportunities for genuine exploration. I was quick to observe the power of things like dramatic play and song having a big impact on their development and how the role that I play as their care provider can encourage and foster that growth. Because of these years I spent going back & forth, I have a rare slice of experience where I can say that I’ve worked with infants all the way to high schoolers and almost all the grades in between. 

A combination of a desire to move on from seasonal work along with some inspiring friends with a great opportunity brought me to Rockaway, Queens in New York City in 2013. Their community in Rockaway was deeply impacted by hurricane Sandy in 2012 and as a response they established a nonprofit to offer art workshops, cooking classes, and community building games to help kids process the storm and its effects on their families and themselves. I spent three summers as the Director of their adventure day camp that was completely free to students. The experience included many field trips to hike, surf, and create art, plus lunches & snacks prepared by kids with food from our garden and donations from local farms. This program provided not only an opportunity to build a program from the ground up, but to form strong relationships with local families and provide them with sometimes one-of-a-kind experiences that will continue to shape and form their ideas about themselves, the world, and how they want to impact their community in positive ways.

I later returned to Oregon and began work as a Site Supervisor for my beloved Outdoor School in 2016. It was a dream of mine to find a way to do that work year-round and I was very honored to take the position. I led many staff groups in three different programs over six years and grew leaps and bounds as a leader, supervisor and administrator while living part time at beautiful Camp Kuratli in Boring. This position has hugely supported my development in creating and sustaining equitable programming where kids and their healthy development are at the center. I left this position in June of 2022 to pursue work that didn’t include overnight residential requirements.

I am deeply excited to be joining the team at Rosebud Preschool! We have an incredible opportunity to create a truly beautiful space where kids can learn about the world and form meaningful relationships with seniors in their community. This intergenerational model is such an elegant way to bring strength, resiliency and connection into the lives of all participating and I am so proud to be a part of it.

I first got into early childhood education 18 years ago as a college senior working towards a double major in History and Political Science at the University of Rhode Island. I was simply looking for part time work and had no idea of the journey and transformation that setting on that course would take me. As the oldest of 5 kids, I figured it would be fairly easy to channel my inner big brother into playing with little kiddos, making sure they stayed safe and helping them with some mild problem solving. Little did I know that the challenges these kiddos would present to me as an emerging adult and budding teacher, would ignite a lifelong passion in early childhood education (ECE), and connecting, understanding, and advocating for the best interests of these little people.

Having had the privilege of growing up in Rome, Italy, in an international environment with people from lots of different backgrounds, I have an excellent ability to communicate and interact positively with people with all kinds of life experiences. This is in part thanks to my fluency in Italian and French and my passable Spanish, but also because I have always valued being a good listener and observer of the human condition.

Following a move to Portland on a whim after college, I eventually found work as an assistant teacher at Childswork Learning Center. I was also tasked with developing an introductory Italian cultural enrichment class for their afterschool program, which was a delight and an eye opener for the kind of work that goes into lesson planning in ECE. It was in this environment that I was exposed to the Reggio style approach to emergent curriculum, and so I started my process of embracing and honing the skills and understanding necessary for this type of educational philosophy. The joy of discovery, passion for student-led projects, and sense of community that I witnessed as a young teacher in that environment cemented my dedication to this approach for the rest of my career as both a teacher and eventually, as a parent.

The opportunity that we have at Rosebud preschool to forge an intergenerational approach with the Rose Villa community is an exciting and promising one. Intergenerational schools are an up-and-coming development in the world of American education, and the prospect of being at the forefront of this new and holistic approach to ECE is both inspirational and a huge privilege that brings with it not only a deep sense of responsibility but one of awe and wonder as well, which I hope to share with both the students of Rosebud and the residents of Rose Villa.