I taught my first class (Legal Calendaring) at Santa Rosa Junior College in the Summer of 2017. I was immediately taken by the students, the beauty of the campus, and by how much I genuinely enjoyed teaching.  Since then, I've taught Legal Writing, The Legal Environment of Business (Petaluma campus), Contracts, the American Jury System, Legal Professions, Torts, Technology and the Law, and Family Law. 

In my "other life" I work as a staff attorney for a nonprofit law. I previously represented parents and children in juvenile dependency proceedings (trial court) and in court-appointed appeals and was a member of the First District Appellate Project and the Fifth District Appellate Program. I was also an elder law outreach attorney for Legal Aid of Sonoma County, a Deputy Attorney General, and a juvenile law staff attorney for the Judicial Council of California, Center for Families, Children & the Courts in San Francisco. At Legal Aid, I handled elder abuse, housing, and probate-related cases. While at CFCC, I developed educational programs for and trained social workers, judges, probation officers, and other juvenile law stake holders on practices designed to improve outcomes for foster youth by requiring compliance with Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. I have also practiced family law and special education law, among other roles. My law degree has enabled me to pursue career goals that have been almost consistently rewarding, challenging, and life-affirming.  That said, on any given day, I still dream about returning to school to get a Masters in Library Science or kick myself for not pursuing a Ph.D. in English.  

My first teaching gig was in conjunction with fieldwork I was required to complete as an undergraduate at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. As part of a hybrid writing/psychology internship, I helped develop a writing clinic for prisoners who were hospitalized at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital in New York City. The experience changed the course of my life. I believe that college is a time for exploring and dreaming, and look forward to helping you expand your dreams and reach your goals.