Hello

My Story

I am an educator and writer from Kentucky, but I have lived in the Black Hills of South Dakota for over the last decade. My interests in education focus on equitable education strategies, including social and emotional learning, family engagement, and culturally sustaining teaching practices. Education has been an important piece of my life since childhood when education and opportunities were encouraged by my single mother and grandmother, who raised me. 

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When not working, I enjoy spending time with my family, doing stick-poke tattoos with my husband, and finishing my doctorate in Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership, focusing on Equity & Diversity. Weekends stay busy balancing activities with our kids and adjusting to life with our new baby.

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I have an MFA in Creative Writing from the Bluegrass Writers Studio at Eastern Kentucky University. I am a graduate of the School for the Creative and Performing Arts located in Lexington, KY, and the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts, where I majored in Creative Writing in both programs.  I also have a BA in Communications with a double minor in English and Women's Studies from Western Kentucky University.

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In addition to my chapbooks and forthcoming children's books, I have been published in literary journals such as P.M.S. Poem Memoir Story, Pasque Petals, Havik: The Las Positas College Journal of Arts and Literature, and more. I have been fortunate enough to serve as an editor for literary journals like Jellybucket, be a guest judge for Western Kentucky University's Goldenrod Poetry Contest, serve on the SD State Poetry Society Board, and attend writing residencies like The Wellstone and Disquiet International Writer's Residency.