About Me

I live in Varna NY, just outside of Ithaca, with my teenage son, a dog, and a cat. I love to hike, read, sing, write, build fires, and watch good movies.

I’ve worked with children my whole life. As a young person I loved babysitting and being a camp counselor; to this day my main interests are young people and nature. After earning a degree in Biology from Oberlin College and spending two years in Fiji as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I became an instructor at a marine science camp and led wilderness expeditions for teens on up. In the early 2000’s I did graduate work in Environmental Education at the Teton Science Schools in Jackson Hole, WY. I moved to Ithaca, NY in 2007 to join the staff of Primitive Pursuits, a nature immersion program for all ages. In 2013 I helped Primitive Pursuits start Ithaca Forest Preschool and I taught there for 8 years. A year as an Early Childhood Teacher at Ithaca Waldorf School gave me more experience with preschoolers. I homeschooled my own son through 3rd grade and became familiar with the local homeschooling community. And I’ve taught elementary age homeschoolers at both Primitive Pursuits and Forest Learning Collective in Cortland, NY.

In 2022 I began tutoring homeschool students in reading, math, science, and history. Working with struggling readers made me wish I had more skills to help them, and I began educating myself about the science of reading and the state of reading education in the U.S. today. This led me to We Shall Read, a non-profit dedicated to improving reading instruction in schools as well as getting qualified tutors into the community and helping parents help their children learn to read. We Shall Read runs Brain Friendly Reading training programs and I completed the Level 1 training in April, 2024. Level 1 focuses on working with readers through 3rd grade, although much of the curriculum applies to older readers as well.

I’m excited to be able to offer this fantastic reading curriculum in-person in Ithaca and globally via Zoom. I hope to raise the literacy rate in my community, and help all children enjoy reading and the success that will follow.