Born into a family of educators, it didn’t take me long to recognize the incredible power of the talented teachers that surrounded me growing up. Inspired by my own academic challenges, I turned my collegiate focus towards effective ways of addressing the learning obstacles of others. My career as an educator began at The Harbour School, serving students with special needs from fourteen different jurisdictions in the DC metro area. I was afforded the valuable experience of working with children across thirteen different grade levels. It was at The Harbour School where I found my voice as a strong student advocate, a role that became foundational to my work as an educator and one that helped define the next chapter of my career. In 2002, I was hired as a special education teacher at Hill Elementary School in Austin, Texas. Encouraged by a visionary principal and strong administration team, I became the chairperson for the special education department and began my masters program at Texas State University, setting in motion my work in educational leadership. Soon I made the transition to Murchison Middle School, where I served as assistant principal for six years. I worked extensively to rebuild their special education department into a more inclusive model and designed the campus-wide advisory program, hosting my own advisory group in order to see it from theory to effective practice. In 2012, I returned to Hill Elementary as the assistant principal and first time kindergarten parent, very fortunate to accompany our daughter to school each day. In 2014, I accepted the position of principal at Lee Elementary School. I am tremendously proud of all that our campus accomplished during my eight year tenure. We were a model campus for Social Emotional Learning, pioneered experiential learning initiatives, and worked collaboratively to meet the needs of each student who came through our doors each day. While challenging, the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic were the proudest of my career. We were successful in navigating uncharted health and safety protocols while also providing exceptional educational opportunities and support to our students and community. We drew on our collective strength and worked together to earn our highest score from The Texas Education Agency in more than a decade. As I return from an incredible year abroad I am more excited than ever to begin the next chapter in my career.