Since coming to West Philadelphia to study just short of ten years ago, I have strived to become a more influential member of this community.  With a significant informal background working with children, I decided to develop a career in education.  Starting with an incredible experience at the Parent-Infant Center as a full-time teacher's assistant, my work has become a strong passion.  Most recently, I posed as the Assistant Academic Coordinator as well as instructor to the Kindergarten after-school class for the Wilson Community School at 46th and Woodland avenues.  My specialty lies within Early Childhood Education as well as sensitive 'at-risk' population efforts.  The new challenge of helping create a dynamic after-school program for the Co-op is more than welcomed and I am quite excited.  For the first time in my career, I feel that my ideas have found a comfortable home.

WPCS is a great place to teach. I have two main goals as a teacher: First, I want to gently support each student’s autonomy by being present and in tune with their individual moods, needs and interests. Second, I want to offer the students extraordinary sensory experiences that will captivate their imagination and add richness to their day at pre-school. These experiences take the form of art, music and movement, reading and storytelling.  

In undergrad at Wheelock College, I studied theater and early childhood education. They seem to go hand in hand. I love jumping into the make-believe worlds that children create. I also enjoy storytelling, puppets, painting, and singing. I enjoy kids' curiosity and feel that almost every experience and new thing can be turned into a learning experience.
  In addition to working at WPCS, I am also a volunteer with Neighborhood Bike Works' Earn a Bike Program.  I have lived in West Philly for only a year, but already feel like a member of a close knit community. It is great seeing families from WPCS around the neighborhood. If you see me on the street make sure to say hello. 

I am a graduate of Hamilton College with a Bachelors in Dance and Hispanic Studies. I moved to Philadelphia in the Fall of 2010 to attend the Headlong Performance Institute and fell in love with a city where I could develop my artistic career inside a safe and nurturing, tight-knit community. During this time, I have been magnetically attracted to working and playing with children. I have enjoyed teaching with ZoomDance (an Action Adventure Storytelling Dance Class for Kids) as well as holding too many dance parties to count while babysitting. Children inspire me in their ability to try out almost anything in the hopes of learning and/or having fun and I greatly enjoy the chance at WPCS to really get to know and learn from each of the students. In addition to dancing around the city and teaching at WPCS, I am also a certified Yin Yoga teacher from Wake Up Yoga and am currently training with them for my teacher certification in Vinyasa Yoga.