In the words of President Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world!” As a product of the public-school system that failed to engage me culturally in the daily curriculum, I truly believe that it takes a village with a social justice foundation to educate a child holistically in the world we live today. I am a wife, a mother of four and grandmother of 6 beautiful human beings of African descent. I have been involved in the private and public education sector for over 30 years in many facets – Early Childhood Education, Elementary Teacher, Middle School ELA and Social Studies Instructor, Head Teacher of Alternative Education, Juvenile System and Head Resource Teacher, High School ELA and Social Studies Instructor, Black Studies Curriculum Developer, University of Washington as a Guest Instructor, Adjunct faculty at Pacific Oaks Northwest College, and Shoreline Community College.

I completed my undergraduate and graduate work at Pacific Oaks Northwest College, where I received a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development with a minor in Developmental Education and a Master of Arts in Human Development with Emphasis on Bi-Cultural Studies. I also received Teacher’s Certification with endorsements in the following content areas: ELL, Elementary Education, ELA, Science, Social Studies, Technology, Visual Arts, and Mathematics. As a believer in being a lifelong learner, I returned to the institution of higher education and received a M.Ed. and certifications in Instructional Leadership and Program Management from City University of Bellevue.

As a teacher for over twenty-five years, Black Studies has been the foundation of my pedagogical practices in the classroom setting. Students of all cultural and ethnic backgrounds gain a strong sense of identity which is a pathway to mastering the required academic standards to successfully meet or surpass state mandated assessments.

I designed and implemented Black Studies Curriculum for the World Vision organization and the Sloan Foundation, which afforded me the opportunity to work closely with President Nelson Mandela, Bridging The Gap Curriculum, The Kennedy Center for the Arts, as well as The Seahawks Academy, where I designed and implemented curriculum for Princess Kasune Zulu of Kabwe, Zambia. Also, as a coach through the Kennedy Center, I implemented and coached teachers on integrated culturally centered curriculum with the arts as the foundation.

I received the Jocelyn Myers Child Advocate Award in 2000, the Phillip Swain Teacher of the Year Award in 2010 and the Kent Elementary Teacher of the Year Award in 2017. I have published the following texts on culturally specific curriculum, “Connecting Students of African Descent with a Global Perspective on the Intra-African Connection Through Literacy” in 2002 and “Bringing the Arts to Life Workbook” (Spanish/English) in 2003.

I am excited and honored for the opportunity to learn and share with such a dynamic group of distinguished scholars!

MA in Human Development with a minor in Bicultural Development, Pacific Oaks College Northwest

MEd with Specialist in Curriculum Development and Administration, City University of Bellevue

BA in Human Development Minor Developmental Education, Pacific Oaks College Northwest

• Teacher Education
• Curriculum Development
• Black Studies
• Literacy
• Theater
• Critical Race Theory
• Multiple Intelligences
• Visual Arts
• American History
• African Diaspora

Bringing the Arts to Life Workbook [Spanish/English] c2003

Connecting Students of African Descent with a Global Perspective on the Intra-African Connection Through Literacy c2002

• Bringing The Arts To Life
• Pre-school to Prison Pipeline Presentation
• Teaching To The Multiple Intelligences
• Curriculum Development
• AVID Professional Development
• Strategies and Methods in Bilingual Bicultural Education
• Child Growth and Development
• K-3 Instructional Methods
• Early Childhood Curriculum
• Cultural Linguistics
• Anti-Bias Workshops
• Imagination and Cultural Expression
• Classroom Management