My teaching journey began in 2013. Over the years, I’ve taught in both public and private schools—across Chicago and its suburbs—serving students from kindergarten through high school in special education.

Throughout my career, I was struck by how many students (at every grade level) still struggled to read, even after receiving multiple interventions. I quickly realized that while special education teachers work with our most vulnerable learners, many of us were never truly taught how to teach reading. That realization sparked my passion to become a reading specialist. I went on to get my masters in reading and become a certified dyslexia practitioner through the Wilson Academy.

Since then, I’ve immersed myself in understanding how children learn to read and what effective reading instruction really looks like. My goal has always been to help every child build a strong foundation in literacy.

After starting a family of my own, I have seen firsthand how critical early literacy experiences are. I also realized that parents—their children’s very first teachers—need and deserve guidance, too. By empowering parents early, we can set children up for lifelong success instead of trying to play catch-up later.

In the summer of 2024, I began hosting early literacy classes in my backyard for children ages 0–2, starting with friends and neighbors. What began as a small community effort has grown into a mission to help families across our community nurture a love of reading from the very beginning.