Originally from the Midwest, I have a bachelor's degree from Indiana University, Bloomington. After a career in content marketing, search engine optimization, and website development, I became a certified speech-language pathology assistant. Today, I work with children from pre-kindergarten through high school in both clinics and schools. In my free time, I write, paint, bike, and create three-dimensional art using recycled materials. I'm also a huge fan of children's media, nature, and ice cream with tons of toppings.

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FUN FACT

During my twenties, I went whitewater rafting and skydiving (three times!) and spent several summers traveling across the United States in a small 172 airplane. Soon thereafter, the pilot became my husband, and the biggest adventure of our lives began: raising three kids.

 

WRITING

Member of Tidewater Writers Critique Group and Hampton Roads Writers

2024 First Place Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction, Christopher Newport University Writers Conference

2024 First Place Poetry, Christopher Newport University Writers Conference

2023 First Place Fiction, Hampton Roads Writers Conference

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ART

Member of Mid-Atlantic Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators and Southside Artists Association.

2024 Great Bridge, Past & Present, Great Bridge Waterways Museum, Chesapeake, VA

2024 Norfolk Botanical Garden, Norfolk, VA

2023 Certificate of Distinction for Scientific Watercolors, Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh

2021 Charles H. Taylor Visual Arts Center, Hampton, VA

2021 Virginia Beach Art Center, Virginia Beach, VA

2020 Suffolk Art League Juried Exhibition, Suffolk, VA