I was born in Appalachia amidst steel mills, coal mines and many low-income families. My high school years were spent in Worthington, Ohio, an upscale suburb of Columbus.

My life experience has included a diverse mix of cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds and it has greatly influenced the way I see values and challenges faced by folks wherever and however they reside.

I went on to graduate from Bowling Green with a degree in Elementary and Special Education. Early classroom experiences included working within inner-city public schools and juvenile delinquent facilities that served an array of families. From there, I moved to Florida where my career focused nearly exclusively on working with severely emotionally disabled secondary students and then program supervision for Palm Beach County Schools.

Upon moving to Brevard County Florida, I began my most important career: mother to four wildly diverse daughters. While being full-time mom I was also able to be part-time adjunct faculty member for early childhood instruction at Brevard Community College (now Eastern Florida State College). I spent over 10 years in parent education and ultimately became the director of parent education with over 850 parents and children joining in the experience.

When my youngest child entered Kindergarten, I entered the school system, supervising PreK disability programs for Brevard County Schools before accepting a position as Executive Director of Space Coast Early Intervention Center. It was a great education model bringing young children with disabilities together with typical peers and I was able to apply my entire self to that role, using my creativity to design a building, outdoor learning environment and places and spaces for families to gather.

After that position I returned to Brevard County Schools to serve as the teen parent resource teacher and ended my formal educational career as the Homeless Liaison for over 2,700 students in the school system.

Through these experiences and the great training I was able to get, I am grateful.  I thought my working career was over.

As my daughters entered adulthood, and parenthood, I was reminded of the great challenges of working AND keeping a nurturing, healthy environment for a family. I have authored the book How I Use My Kid Power at Home to show ways to assist a parent with the multitude of tasks.

NOW I see it all in a different light.