I believe in making the world better through creating better learning tools by writing and illustrating kids' books and developing innovative educational curriculum. My books include activities that connect readers to each other and the story. My children's books embrace diversity and are usually in playful rhyme.

     I develop teaching tools that are mind/body activities based on state of the art research in neuroscience and psychology. My hands-on project and arts based methods are designed for effective and efficient long term understanding of any subject.

     I was brought up in a family of artists and entrepreneurs so the arts have been important throughout my life. For my undergraduate education I was honored to study art with an emphasis in sculpture and ceramics and a minor in humanities in the inspiring environment at San Francisco State University. I went on to earn two teaching credentials and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Chapman University in its excellent education program.

     I gained valuable experience as a full-time public high school art teacher for ten years and have taught nearly all grade levels over my 15+-year career as an educator. For most of my life I have enjoyed writing and illustrating my own stories and poems. Currently, I am a PhD student at the California Institute of Integral Studies researching why the arts exist.