Position: Director of School Partnerships
What led you to your current position: After working as a music teacher, afterschool teacher, and mental health counselor, I went to grad school to study ways that schools can partner with community organizations. I was lucky to find Seneca right afterwards, where I joined the early days of the UE program as a project manager in 2014. In 2018, I moved to LA to help start our small but mighty program down here.
What inspires you to do this work: In this country, education is one of many inequitable systems. However small our part might be in such a big system, I’m inspired to find ways to bring more resources—like training, programs, or simply people who are skilled and dedicated to their work—to support where needs exist in our schools.
What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role: I feel like I’ve learned so much in this role and continue to learn every day. I’m also a big believer in transparency. In that regard I think I’ve learned that, as hard as it can feel in a leadership role, it’s OK to not have the answer to everything all the time. Sometimes the most important thing you can say is, “I don’t have a good answer for that right now—but I’ll find one for you soon.”
Share your life motto or something unique about yourself: My life motto is “Balance in all things.” Work/life, thinking/acting, giving/receiving, resting/moving, the list goes on. One big part of my self-care is finding time to step back and take stock of how I’m holding these different parts of my life in balance.
What led you to your current position: After working as a music teacher, afterschool teacher, and mental health counselor, I went to grad school to study ways that schools can partner with community organizations. I was lucky to find Seneca right afterwards, where I joined the early days of the UE program as a project manager in 2014. In 2018, I moved to LA to help start our small but mighty program down here.
What inspires you to do this work: In this country, education is one of many inequitable systems. However small our part might be in such a big system, I’m inspired to find ways to bring more resources—like training, programs, or simply people who are skilled and dedicated to their work—to support where needs exist in our schools.
What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role: I feel like I’ve learned so much in this role and continue to learn every day. I’m also a big believer in transparency. In that regard I think I’ve learned that, as hard as it can feel in a leadership role, it’s OK to not have the answer to everything all the time. Sometimes the most important thing you can say is, “I don’t have a good answer for that right now—but I’ll find one for you soon.”
Share your life motto or something unique about yourself: My life motto is “Balance in all things.” Work/life, thinking/acting, giving/receiving, resting/moving, the list goes on. One big part of my self-care is finding time to step back and take stock of how I’m holding these different parts of my life in balance.
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