top of page

For more than 20 years, I created content for print, broadcast, and digital publication. The most important part was always to make the mysterious accessible for the audience. My experience as a television news producer, an entrepreneur, and a community development director helped me develop many skills that translate to education. Lesson planning is just like producing a show because students represent the ultimate captive audience. My philosophy is that curriculum should meet national, regional, and local standards, as well as be made relevant to and meaningful for students, scaffolding onto what they already know. I would love to help children learn to be the best students they can be. I want young scholars to feel empowered by inquiry, to build confidence in their abilities to find answers, to refine the critical thinking skills needed to determine what makes information reliable, and to develop positive strategies to share their own voices with the world.

​

Current Professional Experience and Education

 

Oklahoma City Public Schools  |  Oklahoma City, OK  |  February 2021 – present

  • August 2021 - present: Pre-kindergarten Teacher

  • June 2021 - July 2021: Summer School Paraprofessional

  • Feb 2021 - May 2021:  Elementary ELL / Bilingual Paraprofessional

​

​

Kelly Services  |  Oklahoma City, OK  |  February 2020 – February 2021

  • Substitute Teacher

    • I substitute taught in a variety of classes for a variety of age levels in the Moore Public School District. I enjoyed the opportunity to bring in fun extras when I could. When I substituted for a STEAM teacher, I brought in my avocado seeds to show the students how the seeds looked like aliens when they split and the roots and stems emerge. When I substituted for a couple weeks for a 4th grade ELA teacher, I created a special word sort for the students when many of them spelled ‘stone’ correctly on a spelling test, but spelled ‘blown’ as ‘blone.’ While substituting in a 2nd grade class that had many questions about the dates of various holidays in December, I created a calendar activity for them, so they could note all the special days and events happening during the month, and get a better understanding of chronological order.

 

​

Oklahoma State University  |  Stillwater, OK  |  January 2020 – May 2023)

M.S. in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership

Reading and Literacy focus

Requirements completed: May 2023

​

Past Work Experience

​

Exaptive, Inc.  |  Oklahoma City, OK  |  September 2017 – October 2019

  • Director of Community Development (January 2018 – October 2019)

    • Our community extended well beyond the walls of our offices. It included clients, employees, partners, investors, and the wider Data+Creativity crowd that contributes to thoughtful and lively discussion at our meetups every month. I loved helping craft the voice of Exaptive, organizing its growing community, and bringing the voice of the customers back to the product development team. Some responsibilities:

      • Developing and implementing marketing strategy

      • Coordinating Data+Creativity meetups, including booking guests

      • Conducting customer and market research interviews

      • Creating training materials

      • Supporting continuous improvement of marketing, sales, and product development processes

      • Presentations:

        • Exaptive “Market Assessment” – July 24, 2019

        • OKC Ad Club luncheon “Data-Driven Team Building” – July 10, 2019

        • Advent10n conference “Data-Driven Team Building” – April 5, 2019

        • Teach for America “Effects of Big Data in the Age of Social Media” – January 23, 2019

  • Media Specialist (September 2017 – January 2018)

    • Created tutorial videos and marketing materials

    • Interviewed industry experts for market research and web content

​

Dragonfly Productions, LLC  |  Shreveport, LA  |  December 2009 – December 2016

Founder / Digital Media Specialist

I started my own production company in which I created and/or maintained digital media daily for local clients with international audiences. Some projects included:

  • #TheFutureIsCrowdFunded – visual effects designer for a short film that made it into the top 20 films at the Louisiana Film Prize film festival (April 2014)

  • Until Death: The Barrow Gang – videographer and graphic designer for a feature-length independent documentary on the deaths of Bonnie and Clyde (October 2012)

  • Smile Science – created videos for a dentistry exhibit display at Sci-Port Discovery Center (July 2012)

  • Good Works – created an award-winning (March 2012 from the Community Foundation of North Louisiana) documentary short on philanthropy in North Louisiana

  • Shreveport Little Theater – created web videos promoting various upcoming theater productions

  • Port Belly Project: the Belly Dancers of Northwest Louisiana – created a feature-length independent documentary that was selected for screening at the August 2011 International Film Festival of Mind, Body, Spirit & the Ecology in Wales, UK

 

KTBS, Inc.  |  Shreveport, LA  |  October 2006 – February 2010

  • Assignment Editor (July 2008 – February 2010)

    • Researched, assigned news stories

    • Managed news gathering teams

    • Wrote content for web and broadcast

    • Created and implemented plans for breaking news and general assignment coverage

    • Designed and implemented workflow for optimum efficiency from staff with minimum overtime

  • News Producer (October 2006 – July 2008)

    • Wrote, researched news stories; utilized all resources available to tell best stories possible

    • Produced:

      • KTBS 3 First News (Mon-Fri, 5-7a)

      • KPXJ CW 21 News at 7:00am (Mon-Fri, 7-7:30a)

    • Coordinated coverage with assignment desk, reporters, photographers, live truck operators, anchors, and other producers

    • Planned and booked entertaining and informative guests for live or taped in-studio and field interviews

    • Updated news stories on website daily

 

 

KSAZ Fox 10  |  Phoenix, AZ  |  October 2005 – October 2006

News Producer

  • Wrote, researched news stories

  • Produced hour-long 5pm show on Saturday and Sunday

  • Produced half-hour noon show on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

  • Filled in for other producers, including field producers

  • Coordinated coverage with assignment desk, reporters, photographers, live truck operators, and other producers

 

WBRC Fox 6  |  Birmingham, AL  |  March 2004 – October 2005

News Producer

  • Produced Fox6 News Daybreak (Mon-Fri, 5-7a)

  • Listened to police and fire radio frequencies overnight for breaking news

  • Called in photographers for breaking news

  • Wrote, researched news stories

  • Coordinated coverage with assignment desk, reporters, photographers, and other producers

 

WCBI, Inc.  |  Columbus, MS  |  July 2000 – March 2004

News Producer

  • Produced:

    • Your News at Sunrise (Mon-Fri, 5:30-7a)

    • Your News at Midday (Mon-Fri, 12-12:30p)

  • Wrote for web and broadcast

  • Compiled daily agenda, assigned stories to reporters and photographers, created and maintained spreadsheets of contact information

  • Reported as field producer

  • Operated field and studio cameras

  • Voiced-over commercials

 

Eye on the Ball Productions  |  Columbus, MS  |  August 2001 – December 2004

Sports Videographer

  • Filmed and edited high school football and basketball games for tape-delayed cable broadcast

 

Memory Maker Video  |  Columbus, MS  |  May 2000 – March 2004

Videographer

  • Filmed weddings and receptions

​

 

Past Education

 

Oklahoma State University - Stillwater, OK (January 2020 - May 2023)

Degree earned: Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, focus on Reading and Literacy

​

University of Oklahoma – Norman, OK (July 2017 – December 2017)

Non-degree seeking, pre-med classes

 

Louisiana State University - Shreveport – Shreveport, LA (January 2016 – May 2017)

Non-degree seeking, pre-med classes

 

Louisiana State University - Shreveport – Shreveport, LA (Jan 2013 – Dec 2013)

Certificate earned: Digital Media Certificate

 

Mississippi University for Women – Columbus, MS (August 1999 – May 2003)

Degree earned: B.A. in Political Science, Minor in Spanish, Emphasis in Communications

 

Pella Community High School – Pella, IA (August 1995 – May 1999)

Degree earned: High School Diploma

bottom of page