Hello! I am so pleased to meet you! I am one of the five 4th grade teachers at Lake Stickney Elementary School, and I love teaching 4th grade! I have been an elementary school teacher for 8 years. My teaching certification is from the University of Washington. I have a bachelor's degree in science from the University of California Santa Cruz, and a master's degree in marine science from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, California State University. My professional career started in Alaska where I was a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 12 years. My husband and I lived all over the state of Alaska and travelled to remote areas of the state to conduct research and work in Native Alaskan communities. Research expeditions outside of Alaska took us to the Antarctic to study Weddell seals and to Australia to study penguins. We moved to Seattle in 2000, and I stayed home to raise our two daughters for a number of years. Once they were older, I decided to apply my passion for science, conservation and the environment to teaching in the elementary school setting. My belief is that young students need the skills of critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration in order to become productive and effective citizens of our democracy. Through our studies of literacy (reading and writing), math, social studies, art, social-emotional skills and science, students in our classroom are repeatedly engaged in these practices in order to strengthen their thinking skills and background knowledge. I love living in the Pacific Northwest and I enjoy biking, stargazing, walking my dogs, traveling and spending time with my family.