Growing up in Plano
My parents moved to Plano in 1981 to raise a family in a safe community with good schools. I grew up in Plano, attending Christie Elementary, Harrington Elementary, Carpenter Middle School, Clark High School, and Plano East Senior High School. My husband, who was my high school sweetheart, attended Mendenhall Elementary, Bowman Middle School, Williams High School, and Plano East Senior High School.
We’ve experienced firsthand how the expansive academic and extra curricular programs directly benefit students, launching graduates into the next phase of life.
She Blinded me with Science
After graduating from Plano East, I attended the University of North Texas, double majoring in Biology and German before earning a PhD in Neuroscience from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, where I was a National Science Foundation Fellow. In parallel, my husband pursued military service and his own post-secondary education.
Plano’s rigorous curriculum and the Advanced Placement classes were excellent preparation for our college and graduate education and our careers.
A Path to Service
My journey to public service in education began with our son, who was born profoundly deaf. Through our journey as a family from early childhood intervention to the realization that we had a child that the education establishment considers “twice exceptional,” we have experienced ARDs, IEPs, 504s, GT, and a myriad of other acronyms that parents often navigate with significant frustration and confusion. In addition, being a military family has led to both unique benefits and hardships in our children’s educational experience.
In 2021, I decided that I could use my unique experiences advocating for our children to advocate for all children in PISD.
Honoring our History and Preserving our Community Values
During my time as a PISD Trustee, I have put kids first and abided by the values I was raised with in this community.
My husband and I often recount the Citizenship and Character Trait posters that were all over Plano ISD classrooms when we were growing up, some of which are astoundingly still floating around! These values, instilled in us as children, have guided our adult lives and our service to our community and our country. These values, including courtesy, honesty, human worth and dignity, patriotism, respect for self and others, courage, tolerance, and responsibility shape my decision making. We believe “a free society must be an ethical one.”
As a trustee, I honor our community’s history of honesty, respect, and tolerance and will continue to fight for a community that does not tolerate hate or bullying in any form and is a place where every student is welcome, supported, and free to thrive.