Early Childhood Educator · Portland, OR
Kindergarten Lead Teacher with five years in Reggio Emilia-inspired early childhood classrooms. I build my room around child-led curiosity, real observation, and room for each kid to move at their own pace.
Rooted in the Gorge
Growing up in the Columbia River Gorge shaped a lifelong, visceral connection to the outdoors. That’s part of why I don’t treat the Pacific Northwest as a backdrop in my classroom. It’s where kids learn, explore, and ground themselves in the physical world.
- RoleKindergarten Lead
- SchoolSmall Wonders
- Experience5+ years in ECE
- EducationB.S. in Anthropology/Sociology, Social WelfareEastern Oregon University
- Reggio-inspired
- Nature-based inquiry
- Early literacy
Where the work has happened
Classroom leadership, individualized student support, and family partnership.
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August 2024 – Present
Kindergarten Lead Teacher · Small Wonders School
Lead a Reggio Emilia-inspired Kindergarten classroom, where kids explore ideas at their own pace within a structured daily rhythm.
Added a dedicated outdoor block that connects what we learn inside to real experiences outside, and back again.
Teach reading through UFLI, Nellie Edge, and Secret Stories, so every child builds strong literacy foundations.
Watch closely for kids who need extra support, and work directly with specialists and families to make sure they get it.
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June 2021 – August 2023
Preschool Lead Teacher · Small Wonders School
Built a monthly, theme-based curriculum, weaving art, sensory experiences, movement, and social-emotional learning into everyday play.
Invited parent volunteers into the classroom to share their own culture, traditions, science, and art with the kids.
Partnered with outside specialists to support every child’s individual needs in an inclusive classroom.
Got to know families deeply through regular parent conferences.
What the classroom was built on
- Bachelor of ScienceAnthropology/Sociology — Concentration in Sociology—Social WelfareEastern Oregon University · Completed June 2026
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Capstone Research
An independent study mapping how families of children with developmental needs find their way to early intervention services, across both public and private pathways. Produced practical documentation resources for families, educators, and providers, and presented the findings to academic faculty and program leadership.
- AssociateArts Oregon Transfer / ScienceMt. Hood Community College · June 2019
Children learn best when they feel known
The room is set so it asks the questions. Materials sit at eye level, work is left out overnight, and children are trusted to follow their own thinking further than they would follow mine.
Structured literacy anchors the morning; the rest of the day goes outside, in every season, where a real question turns into digging, watching, measuring and arguing toward an answer. Families are part of the work, not an audience for it.
Little moments, big deal
