Experience

ExcelinEd

• United States
• Public Policy Offices
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Managing Director, Policy

  • Aug 2023 - Present

• Senior Policy Director, Pathways

  • Jan 2023 - Aug 2023

  Leading the College and Career Pathways Team, working to expand high-quality pathways opportunities for learners in collaboration with in-state partners through state-level policy and implementation support.

• Director, Innovation Policy

  • Oct 2019 - Jan 2023

  Leading Credentials Matter 2.0 and supporting states with policy/implementation of college and career pathways, personalized learning, and school turnaround.



Tennessee Department of Education

• United States
• Education Administration Programs
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Director of Project Management, Consolidated Planning and Monitoring and School Improvement

  • Sep 2017 - Oct 2019

  Leading the department’s statewide school improvement initiatives to increase student outcomes in districts and schools identified as in need of improvement on the state accountability system • Overseeing Senior Director responsibilities under the Chief Schools Officer, including leading and implementing new department priorities within School Improvement, School Models and Programs, and the Achievement School District • Managing a team supporting district and school implementation of federal funds, including budget and grants management, grant writing, monitoring, and district and school supports for 9 priority districts, representing 96 schools and 40 additional targeted support and improvement (ATSI) districts, representing 104 schools• Overseeing $25 million in federal Title I, 1003A funds to coordinate grant opportunities and statewide program implementation and supports for identified districts and schools • Leading implementation of required federal updates outlined in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) including Title I supplement not supplant methodology and resource allocation review • Designed and implemented the statewide competency-based education (CBE) pilot for schools to plan and implement CBE, in collaboration with Lipscomb University and the Appalachian Regional Comprehensive Center• Redesigned the district and school planning tool, InformTN, to support districts and schools in having access to robust student- and teacher-level data to utilize in the annual planning process• Oversaw the logistics, scheduling, design, and implementation of the annual ESSA Directors Institute for 300 federal programs directors Show less

• Interim Director, Pathways TN, Division of College, Career, and Technical Education

  • Mar 2017 - Sep 2017

  Managed the Office of Pathways TN to provide directed support to the regions implementing K-12, postsecondary, and industry alignment to increase student readiness and access to high-quality and aligned careers• Lead technical assistance for five existing Pathways TN Regions ranging from strategic planning, goal setting, meeting facilitation, articulation agreements, and Perkins Reserve grant implementation • On-boarded two new Pathways TN regions- Greater Memphis and Northeast TN• Convened and facilitated quarterly the cross-agency State Planning Team meetings to promote statewide alignment across K-12, postsecondary, industry, and economic and community development• Oversaw the application and implementation of the New Skills for Youth $6 million grant from JP Morgan Chase to provide statewide support and additional funds to districts and schools to increase the number of students who graduate career ready Show less

• Program Manager, Student Readiness, Division of College, Career and Technical Education

  • Jul 2015 - Sep 2017

  Designed and implemented strategies and resources to support the department’s goal of increasing postsecondary readiness and ensuring all students obtain a 21 on the ACT by 2020• Organized the Career Forward Task Force, a committee including K-12, industry, students, parents, non-profit organizations, postsecondary, and local and state level officials, to develop Tennessee’s definition of a career ready student and the necessary supports and systems required to attain the definition • Developed the course standards for Preparing for the ACT, College, and Career to provide schools with a high-quality resource to help increase students’ scores on the ACT • Convened and facilitated the Personalized Learning Task Force, a cross-agency team that developed the department’s plan for personalized learning including micro-credentials, competency-based education, blended learning, and predictive analytics • Lead the statewide Algebra I/Integrated Math I Blended Learning Pilot to implement the personalized learning task force’s recommendation on leveraging technology to tailor instruction to individual students needs Show less



Education Pioneers

• United States
• Education Administration Programs
• 400 - 500 Employee

• YesPrep Curriculum Design Fellow

  • Jun 2014 - Aug 2014

  Developed high-quality curriculum resources for a charter network • Designed standards-based unit and lesson plans, and aligned professional development, for 6th grade science and social studies courses to ensure teachers had high quality materials to implement the at the start of the school year and model future lessons after Developed high-quality curriculum resources for a charter network • Designed standards-based unit and lesson plans, and aligned professional development, for 6th grade science and social studies courses to ensure teachers had high quality materials to implement the at the start of the school year and model future lessons after



Teach For America

• United States
• Education Administration Programs
• 700 & Above Employee

• Teacher Leader Specialist

  • May 2013 - Jul 2013

  Designed and implemented professional development on curriculum design, lesson planning, data-driven instruction, and assessment development for social studies teachers Designed and implemented professional development on curriculum design, lesson planning, data-driven instruction, and assessment development for social studies teachers



Wooddale High School

• United States
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Social Studies Teacher

  • Jul 2010 - May 2013

  Taught U.S. History and World History to students in a priority school, incorporating real world connections and strong communication skills to prepare students for graduation and postsecondary • Designed and taught standards aligned curriculum for 9th grade World History, Honors U.S. History, and U.S. History • Level 5 teacher – 97% of students achieved proficient or advanced on the 2013 U.S. History state assessment Taught U.S. History and World History to students in a priority school, incorporating real world connections and strong communication skills to prepare students for graduation and postsecondary • Designed and taught standards aligned curriculum for 9th grade World History, Honors U.S. History, and U.S. History • Level 5 teacher – 97% of students achieved proficient or advanced on the 2013 U.S. History state assessment