As early as 4 years old, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. It may have been due to the affection I held for my preschool teacher, Ms. Mason, or my desire to “boss the kids around” as my mother likes to share to this day. Either way, my aspiration to be an educator has stayed with me throughout my childhood and well into adulthood.

After graduating from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in Political Theory and Theater, I obtained a role as an Associate Teacher at the Brearley School, a highly-coveted and prestigious all-girls private school in Manhattan.  When the program ended 2 years later, I was asked to stay on for another year.  I declined knowing that those wonderful girls would be exceptional without me. I knew I wanted to make an impact on children who were not afforded the same opportunities and privileges. What I took from Brearley, and carry with me still, is how to provide excellent academic instruction while nurturing appropriate social-emotional development.

Having a background in theater and simultaneously pursuing acting since graduating from college, I knew first-hand of the benefits that the training in acting had on self-esteem, self-advocacy and personal expression. In wanting to pursue this avenue further, I searched and found a program at New York University that seemed to marry drama with psychology and I immediately enrolled. I went on to earn a M.A. in Drama Therapy.  During my training, I interned as a Drama Therapist at out-patient adult psychiatric programs but focused more of my efforts to train at in-patient child and adolescent psychiatric units throughout New York. While deeply rewarding, I wanted to work with students with special needs on a more consistent basis. Many children on these units were there temporarily, and so the work that I did was often interrupted due to discharge and with no opportunity for follow-up.

Upon graduating from NYU, I took on the position of Case Manager at the Child’s Aid Society, PINS (persons in need of supervision) Unit while simultaneously applying to the New York City Teaching Fellows (“NYCTF”) Program. While I felt impactful as a case manager who linked at-risk students to resources within their communities and felt fortunate to use my training as a Drama Therapist, if only minimal, I knew that I wanted to be a Special Education Teacher and work directly with the city’s most vulnerable population.  As a NYCTF, I began my journey as a special educator in District 75, New York City Department of Education’s (“NYCDOE”) service district for students identified as requiring significant intervention across all areas of academic, social-emotional development and sometimes physical development.   During the time I worked in District 75, I taught students who were educationally classified as having an Emotional Disturbance, a Learning Disability, a Speech and Language Impairment and/or an Intellectual Disability.  Although that time was incredibly rewarding, I felt compelled to do more to empower students and advance the quality of education.  I decided to enroll at St. John’s University School of Law while continuing my career as a special educator.  To facilitate this endeavor, I transitioned from a D75 school in Brooklyn to teach at a community school in Queens which was located in closer proximity to the law school. There, I taught special classes: 8:1:1; 12:1; and 12:1:1; as well as Integrated Co-Teaching classes.

I completed my law degree and moved into special education administration within the same year.  I was a Special Education Coordinator and then a Special Education Supervisor at a charter high school in New York City. This charter high school was intended to serve students identified as at-risk for dropping out of school.   There, I ensured that IEPs were implemented and remained in compliance and oversaw the special education program. Additionally, I implemented Academic Intervention Services (“AIS”) as well as programs to help bridge the gap between grade expectation and actual grade performance.

After leaving the charter high school,  I returned to the NYCDOE as an Impartial Hearing Representative. As a representative, I resolved cases resulting from Due Process Complaints filed against the DOE and litigated cases when resolution was not possible.  This role gave way to an opportunity to join a prestigious special education law firm in New York City as a Special Education Attorney. There, I represented families and their children as they sought appropriate education and services from school districts throughout New York City, Westchester, and Long Island.  While the time at the law firm was invaluable, I want to reach a broader range of students and spend more time working with school districts to implement appropriate interventions for a larger percentage of their population. Therefore, I ultimately decided to build my own practice. While embarking upon my own was not an easy decision, it has provided me with the freedom to develop and execute my mission.

I live on Long Island with my husband, James.   We share three incredible children: Amani, Channing, and Greyson and adore our pet cat, Shondra. Our time together is always eventful and full of immense laughter.