I am currently the Title I Director, ELL Director, and Reading coordinator in Chelmsford Public Schools (it’s a hybrid role – I’m still in the classroom teaching third and fourth grade writing and modeling lessons K-4!) With 12 years of teaching experience, I design and present workshops both nationally and internationally focusing on teacher implementation of Universal Design of Learning and the Common Core. Some professional highlights are below.

• Author of UDL Now! A Teacher’s Monday Morning Guide to Common Core Implementation using Universal Design for Learning, published by CAST Professional Publications (2014).
• Earned Ed.D. from Boston University in Curriculum and Instruction in English/language arts and literacy, K-12. Completed graduate studies in both language acquisition and reading instruction.
• Currently working toward National Teacher Certification in Reading, language arts.
• Independent presenter for CAST (The Center for Applied Science and Technology) and a member of the UDL Professional Learning Cadre. Invited to present at numerous workshops, including Harvard University’s summer session, for teachers K-12, about designing and implementing a UDL curriculum with a focus on literacy.
• Selected by the Teaching Channel to be featured in a series of videos about teacher excellence in implementing the Common Core in English/language arts with a focus on reading and writing.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/descriptive-details-sensory-language

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/share-common-core-with-students

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/theme-symbolism-allusion-lesson

• Teach graduate level courses focused on UDL and Common Core implementation in grades K-12 through Fitchburg State University. Exemplary evaluations from teachers K-12 in the course.
• Chosen to participate in Project SUCCESS, a Race to the Top initiative to train the state’s top teachers to mentor their colleagues in “high-need” areas, such as English as a Second Language.
• As the mentoring coordinator, I re-designed Chelmsford’s mentoring program and trained master teachers PK-12 in the implementation of a curriculum that can be used to frame discussions with new teachers. UDL principles and guidelines were incorporated into new teacher training.

Presenter at the following conferences:

• “Implementation of Universal Design for Learning” keynote presentation at ULearn conference in Rotorua, New Zealand (October, 2014)
• “Take a Walk in Our Shoes” for the UDL Strand at Center for Exceptional Children (CEC) Convention and Expo, Philadelphia, PA 2014
• “Harnessing the Power of ECET2″ at Elevating and Celebrating Teachers and Teaching (ECET2) conference hosted by the Gates Foundation, Snowbird, UT, 2014
• “Transforming Teaching: One Story at a Time,” as a member of the Teacher PR Corps at Social Media Week in NYC, 2014
• “Conquer Common Core Writing with UDL” Multipart Series, Chelmsford, MA 2013, 2014
• “Sharing Common Core Standards with Students” at Elevating and Celebrating Teachers and Teaching (ECET2) conference hosted by the Gates Foundation, LaJolla, CA, 2013
• Teacher panel presenter at NBC Education Nation, NYC, 2013
• “Universal Design,” model lesson and webinar sponsored by Jobs for the Future (JFF) through the US Department of Education’s School Turnaround Learning Community, an online community of practice, Boston, MA, 2013
• Keynote presenter at the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (BCSC) UDL Institute, Columbus, IN, 2013
• “Conquering the Core” keynote presenter and “Common Core Narrative Writing the UDL Way,” presenter at Massachusetts Common Core Conference, hosted by the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) and UMass Boston, 2013. Won an award for best presentation and overall excellence in teaching.
• “Teacher Core Revolution” presenter. National Teacher Voice convening, hosted by the Gates Foundation, Washington, DC, 2013
• “UDL Immersion Experience” at Harvard University’s UDL Summer Session, Boston, MA, 2012, 2013

If your school district is moving toward Common Core implementation or adopting the UDL framework, please contact me so we can discuss your professional development needs. My speeches and presentations are energetic, engaging, and anything but typical. I promise.