I have been an educator since graduating with my B.A. in English from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1994. I have taught high school English 9, Sports Medicine, and Physical Education. In 2003 I received my Masters in School Administration and began to work on my doctoral degree. In January of 2005 I became the principal at Richfield Elementary School, a small K-8 school in rural Stanly County. Armed with data on 4th grade students, 44% of whom had BMI rankings in the 85%ile or above, I threw the sugary, highly caloric foods out of my cafeteria, implemented an hour of physical activity daily for students, and required staff to integrate health and wellness into the curriculum. Richfield Elementary achieved 3 years of academic growth in a two year time period. The results earned my staff the North Carolina Prevention Partners School of Excellence award in 2007 as well as the designation as a School of Distinction, ranking Richfield Elementary in the top 10% of schools in North Carolina. I served as the principal of Jack W. Harmon Elementary School in San Tan Valley, Arizona for three years before taking a position as the Principal of Florence Virtual Academy and the director of Project IMPACT FUSD. Project IMPACT FUSD is an initiative by Florence Unified School District to address and improve student and staff health. Currently, I am the principal at Stanfield Elementary School in rural Pinal County, AZ. We have become the first school in Arizona to every receive Gold with Distinction recognition in the United States Healthier Schools Criteria program sponsored by the USDA. Out of over 100,000 schools nationally, only 366 have ever received this award. In addition to my duties as a principal, I am also the Co-founder of Core Purpose Consulting, a private consulting group that works with schools and school districts, as well as some state agencies, to promote health and wellness in America's schools.