About Me

My Bio

​My life has been marked by community or public service since my earliest memories. My mom was a public school teacher for 35 years, and my dad was a farmer, advocate and national organizer for farmers, school board member, state legislator, and state-wide elected official. I have worked as a public school teacher, church worker and as a part of the United States Military for my entire life. I guess you can say it’s in my blood.

I earned my bachelor’s degree in music education from Augustana University in Sioux Falls in 1991, and a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2011. May 2017 marked the completion of my last leg of my education journey when I completed my doctorate in educational administration from UNO. My dissertation focused on improving employment opportunities for people with an Autism Spectrum Disorder along with other learning differences.

Community

Community activism is very important to me. Along with having taught classes through Junior Achievement, I currently am an instructor with the Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties through their Rentwise program. In addition, I am an annual participant in Project Homeless Connect, and an active hospice care volunteer through Tabitha Health Care Services and Domesti-PUPS.