Regional Director, Canada

While my past 25 years in education has led me down diverse leadership pathways, my passion has remained the same: supporting educators in their pursuit of improving educational experiences for every student. As an executive member of the NCSM affiliate BCAMT, and through my experiences as a leader in many other contexts, I have connected with educators from around the world and worked toward ensuring equal opportunities for the professional growth of all educators. I continue to be a leader whose feet have never left the classroom and I strive to provide students with equitable, inclusive access to the joy of learning mathematics. Daily, I witness the challenges and the successes of classroom teachers who are supported by passionate and knowledgeable mentors: mentors such as those with NCSM and its affiliates. As Regional Director for Canada, I look forward to supporting NCSM’s bold leadership and strategic initiatives. Most of all, I am excited to further develop my own leadership strengths and create new relationships with educators across North America.

In 1994, I began my teaching career in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia and have seen numerous changes to curriculum and pedagogical approaches. My teaching of mathematics has spanned grades K-10, including learning assistance and modified math classrooms which thankfully no longer exist. I took on many teacher-leader roles before officially providing professional learning and mentoring teachers as a Numeracy Coordinator in my district. I broadened my leadership to working with BC Ministry curriculum and assessment teams and by becoming an executive member on the NCSM affiliate British Columbia Association of Mathematics Teachers. I became President of our executive for three years and now enjoy being Past-President and returning to the classroom fulltime. I continue to provide professional development for educators in BC and Yukon school districts in person, and now virtually through conferences and workshops. Additionally, I worked with adult educators for over ten years at the University of Victoria as an instructor of Advanced Methodologies for Foreign Teachers. We have welcomed teachers from around the world to explore methodologies and techniques to engage English learners. In 2017 and 2018, I traveled to China to provide this program on-site. It really showed me that educators are alike no matter where we are; what we want most is to truly inspire students to love learning.