What area do you work in within the VPFA portfolio? 
I work at The Vivian Olum Child Development Center.

What is your current position, and what are your job responsibilities?
I am a teacher of three-year-old children. I am responsible for them safely exploring their days and building authentic attachments with their peers and other teachers, all while enjoying the incredible variety of learning experiences presented.

What has been your career path; how did you end up in your current position?
I have been in early childhood education for 28 years and have had the privilege of working at the Vivian Olum Center since 2006! Prior to being here at Olum I was a teacher at the EWEB Child Center for 16 years. When the person who hired me at the EWEB center left to come to the UO, I eventually happily followed them here.

What obstacles have you overcome in your career?
Being a teacher is an emotional job. A school community can become like an extended family and when natural attrition occurs it can affect everyone. I have learned to be able to go with the flow when teachers and faculty who I have enjoyed working with transition to other life goals. Community building is something that is an important part of being a teacher, to be able to create a classroom community that fosters resilience, connectedness, and independence in all its members.

How has working at the UO enabled your professional goals and interests?
I’d like to give a shout-out to Vivian Olum and to thank her for her vision that valued early childhood education so many years ago! I would also like to give a shout-out to all the incredible teachers and faculty that work there. I truly appreciate all they do to make the center a family for everyone involved with it. I can relax knowing everyone cares for each other and we are a community where we all give to each other. I also truly appreciate all the UO students that are a part of our teaching staff and am happy there are so many! I see such growth in the students that work here for any amount of time. The students are eager to learn and will be more informed parents with the skills to support children whenever and however children enter their lives.

What do you like about your current position?
That I get to share my day with two-year-old and three-year-old young people. It is amazing! I especially enjoy exploring nature and the natural world with them. If they can learn about nature as young people, they will grow up to love it and take care of it. I love just being outside with them, seeing the osprey on the law school roof next door or the ladybugs in the garden the children helped plant and tend. Taking walks with them around campus and noticing the natural world with them is so meaningful!

Share a little about yourself personally:

• Family: My husband Michael and I have 2 children and 3 grandchildren who live nearby. I have included photos of my pony, horse, and grandchildren.

• Best movies: Little Big Man. A shout-out also to Dances With Wolves because my husband, who is a tailor, model, and historian, created all the flags for the movie. My whole family also got to be in The Last of The Mohicans, which was a fun adventure! We lived in our teepee during filming in North Carolina!
• If you could have the answer to any question, what would it be? How to save the natural world for our next generations. That’s my goal!
• This last photo of the tile with a message is my mantra and I am happy to share it: 

(July 2019)