I'm a self proclaimed nerd who loves to talk, create spreadsheets, read memoirs, write, try new foods, edit spreadsheets, watch documentaries and if I'm being honest...dating shows too. One of my newer hobbies is gardening and challenging myself with the woes of gardening failure. For fun in the past I've written restaurant and app tech columns for an entertainment paper, tutored students in math (yes for fun!), and helped small businesses with their social media. I tinker with budgeting and spreadsheets to relax...you might think I'm joking...I'm also very passionate about my career. Although born with a degenerative neuromuscular disorder, Charcot-Marie-Tooth, I'd rarely had an opportunity to engage with disabled peers until nearing the end of high school. It was then that I attended the Governor's Youth Leadership Forum for students with disabilities and met an amazing group of people, my people. I was determined my career path would give back to my community and that I would be a provider who served with empathy and compassion. While completing my bachelor's in engineering I discovered the field of Rehabilitation Engineering which would allow me to mesh my technical skillsets into service for the disability community. In my 12 years as a Rehab Engineer I had the opportunity to work one on one with people to support their goals through the implementation of assistive technology systems and solutions. I enjoyed working with individuals in their school and work environments to ensure they could utilize their abilities for success. I also found my passion for accessible home design to increase safety, independence, and access for families experiencing access barriers. My experience led me to instruct the design and construction of my own accessible home and I, of course, added accessible gardening to the features!In the last couple of years I was able to step into roles that have allowed me to stretch and grow professionally. While providing direct services, I took an opportunity to assist Alabama's Assistive Technology Act program with revitalization of services that increase access to and knowledge of assistive technology and soon had the opportunity to accept the role as director of the program. Development of our program, named Accessing Potential Through Assistive Technology, has been the passion project of my career. It has been a great honor to collaborate with some of the best AT professionals in Alabama to expand the capacity of our state to provide assistive technology services.