Innovative educational leader skilled at empowering people, optimizing operations, and driving continuous improvement, with significant experience spearheading strategic initiatives, leading high-performing teams, and elevating learner outcomes.
My background spans K-12, higher education, and edtech, where I have led remote teams through periods of rapid growth and change. I am a visionary leader experienced in strategic planning, project management, instructional design, and delivering results through operational excellence. I am passionate about leveraging technology and learning science to create adaptive, engaging educational experiences that unlock learners’ full potential.
My core strengths as a leader include stakeholder engagement, change management, performance optimization, product innovation, and inspirational coaching to motivate teams to exceed goals and embrace innovation. I thrive at leading cross-functional teams to execute strategic roadmaps that boost learner success and elevate the end-to-end learning experience.
At my core I am an educator and a designer of experiences. I envision new opportunities and new outcomes for students. I try hard to engage and inspire others to think differently about how to approach the work of learning. I seek to empower learners and give them more voice & choice. I have little patience for “this is just how we’ve always done things.” I believe strongly in doing what is best for learners and not what is easiest for the adults, but also believe in creating learning spaces that value/honor/support the learning of everyone in that space — including the adults.
People over processes and procedures.
Relationships over power structures.
Effective teaching over excessive documentation.
Collaborating with parents and learners over responding to them.
(In other words, an Agile approach to our work and to school improvement)
Leadership Philosophy
My personal leadership philosophy is focused on establishing collaborative strategic decision-making across the organization while also creating a climate and culture that is respectful and supportive of the success and development of each individual within the organization. My leadership style is influenced by a blend of transformational, situational, social identity theory, and facilitative leadership. As a transformational leader, I focus on inspiring and motivating my team to reach their full potential and to embrace change as we work collectively to achieve our goals. I encourage my team to think outside of the box and to be innovative in their work. As a situational leader, I adapt my leadership style and strategies to meet the needs of the situation and the individuals involved. I recognize that each team member has their unique strengths and weaknesses, and I adjust my approach accordingly. As a leader who embraces social identity theory, I emphasize the importance of building strong relationships and trust among the team members. This involves promoting open communication, active listening, and creating a sense of community within the team. Finally, as a facilitative leader, I promote collaboration and teamwork by providing a supportive environment where team members can share ideas and solutions, and learn and work together to achieve common goals. I strive to leverage all of this in such a way that each aspect complements the others to establish a comprehensive leadership style that supports collaboration, empowerment, personal and professional growth in one’s self as well as among one’s team, and the cultivation of a climate and culture conducive to overall success as we collectively serve our students.
Snapshot of Career Highlights & Impact
➔ Successfully led academic product team through launch of new online degree programs, overseeing roadmapping, development, and continuous improvement.
➔ Provided strategic oversight enabling operational consistency during acquisition integration, empowering team excellence.
➔ Created and executed 3-year strategic vision and technology integration roadmap for large urban school district, which included launch of district-wide edtech coaching program doubling learning management system usage and increasing coaching engagement by over 40%.
➔ Led emergency transition to remote learning during pandemic for 3,500 teachers and 35,000 students.
➔ Designed personalized learning model leading to 2.7 years of reading and 2.3 years of math growth in a single year.
Areas of Expertise
• Program | Project Management (PMI PMP Certified, PSM Certified)
• Team Leadership | Coaching | Professional Development | Adult Learning
• Educational Technology planning, implementation, training, & support
• Curriculum Development | Instructional Design | Learning Experience (LXD) Design | Multi-modal Course Development for K-12, college, and professional development
• Instructional Leadership – Connected Learning, Blended Learning, Personalization, and Tech Integration
• Design & User Experience (UI/UX Design)
• Stakeholder Engagement | Consulting | Customer Experience CX | Communications
• Budget Planning | Reporting | Management
• Talent Management & Supervision
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
Educational Background
- M.S. – Organizational Leadership with Grad Cert in Strategic Human Resource Management (In Progress), Southern New Hampshire University
- M.Ed. – Educational Leadership: Administration & Supervision, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
- Post-Baccalaureate certification courses in Art Education (30 graduate level credit hours), University of Houston, Houston, Texas
- M.A. – Studio Art (Painting & Printmaking), Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
- B.A. – Studio Art (Design, Painting, & Drawing), McNeese State University, Lake Charles, Louisiana
Certifications
- PMP – Project Management Professional (PMI)
- LXD Learning Experience Design (Louisiana State University)
- PSM-I – Professional Scrum Master (Scrum.org)
- Principal, Classroom Teacher – K-12 Art, Technology Applications (Texas)
Professional Experience
- AVP, Academic Product & Assessment, 2023 – present, Kenzie Academy, Southern New Hampshire University
- Curriculum Developer & Lead Instructor, UI/UX Design Certification Program, 2022-present, Kenzie Academy, Southern New Hampshire University
- Senior Director, Academic Operations & Professional Learning, 2021 – 2023, Kenzie Academy, Southern New Hampshire University
- Director, Educational Technology, 2018 – 2021, Department of Curriculum, Spring Branch ISD
- Audit Manager, Educational Programs, April 2015 – June 2018, Office of Internal Audit, Houston ISD
- Advisory Board & School Board Member / School Designer / Technology Coach, August 2011 – April 2015, Houston A+ Challenge & A+UP Middle School
- Adjunct Faculty (Online) – Education, Humanities & Culture, Art, Film 2009 – 2015, Multiple Schools
- Author / Speaker / Consultant, ISTE, TCEA, NASSP, ASCD, SXSWedu, 2008 – 2015
- Curriculum Specialist – Literacy / Literacy Coach, 2007 – 2010, Department of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment, and Waltrip HS, Houston ISD
- Dean of Instruction / School Improvement Facilitator / Magnet Coordinator, 2006 – 2007, Scarborough HS, Houston ISD
- School Improvement Facilitator / Academy Coordinator / Teacher, 2000 – 2006, Chavez HS, Houston ISD
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