What do you do at CEI?

I serve as a racial equity fellow on the education team, collaborating with multiple Portland-metro area school districts in both the Equity Certificate program and district-wide school partnerships.

What did you do prior to CEI?

Most recently before CEI, I was working in EdTech with ALE (Alternative Learning Experience) programs in school districts across Washington state. However, the majority of my career years were spent as a K-8 classroom teacher in both Portland, OR and San Jose, CA.

Why do you do this work?

I have so much love for education and students hold my heart in that dedication. I do this work because I did not see myself reflected in my own K-12 experience, nor did that dynamic change once I held the role of an educator. Professionally, I could see the significance of my representation to both my students and colleagues. Personally, I have dealt with challenges of parenting children in white-dominant spaces that do not look very different from my own childhood. My work is to disrupt the perpetuation of a system that is not working for each and every student, in hopes of making it a vastly different experience for generations to come.

What do you believe?

I believe that we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams come true — capable of more than we’ll ever comprehend. 

What is a question that guides your work?

How can we empower each other to create a world where future generations flourish? 

Quote: 

“If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.” 

— James Baldwin