Get to Know AJA’s Incoming HOS

What drew you into a career in education?

I went about it in an unnatural route. I was not drawn to the career of education. I loved sciences and language. My undergraduate degree was in biology and Spanish. I was then invited to have a fully-funded Master’s if I would teach for University of Tennessee. I had never taught, but I stepped into the college classroom, and it was totally transformative. 

I loved being in front of the room. I loved interacting with the students — the relationship-building was something I just didn’t think that I needed, or would be good at, and it ended up being kind of a match made in heaven. And so it completely shifted where I wanted to go with my career. 

Then I got a PhD, and the whole plan was teaching college classes, being a professor, and tenure track. I came to Texas, went to UT, and then life happened: I got married, had babies, needed to slow down a little bit, and then I was invited to teach at this K-8 girls school, the Girls’ School of Austin. I said, “I’m a college professor. I don’t really do little kids.” And then, lo and behold, it turns out I absolutely love that too. 

So it wasn’t like I dressed up as a teacher as a little girl, but once I started teaching, it was no longer an option not to teach. I can’t imagine not being in education.

How long were you at the Girls’ School before transition to Trinity? Or were there more stops on the path to Trinity?

I was there. I also taught at UT as an adjunct, and I taught at ACC. It was kind of crazy, and I had two little babies. Then Trinity approached and said, “We’ve heard you’re a great teacher. We’d like you to join our community. We have this wonderful part-time job for you.” 

I said, “Look, I have every part-time job possible in Austin right now. So, the only way I’m going to leave teaching college kids and leave the Girls’ School, is if you find a full-time role for me.” 

They created a role between the lower school and the middle school for me, and I left all my other jobs. That was 12 years ago when I came to Trinity. 

What lessons are you bringing with you from your time at Trinity?

All of that previous time before the Girls’ School and the universities I taught at, I was leading learners rather than adults. Midway through my time here, I transitioned from full-time classroom teaching to administration, and now I’m in charge of the teachers.
 
I think a gift of mine is leading: interacting and knowing how to relate with people. It started with my learners, but now I do it with adults. So I think that coming into AJA, using that skill of community-building, buy-in, and relationship-building will probably be one of the biggest skills that I’ve taken in my most recent part of Trinity.

What part of school life brings you the most joy?

The community of people — the kids. I was gonna say hugs because I love hugs, but that’s like only from the little ones. I don’t know if I need like parent hugs every day (laughs).

The best part about being a teacher is that you have this little family for either a semester or a year, and you go through ups and downs, you see emotions, and you connect all while learning together, even if you’re the one leading the class. 

Every school I’ve been at, or department in the University, has been a family. You are there for each other. You support each other. You make each other laugh. It’s that community piece, and educators in general are such giving people. I think being surrounded by them fills my cup every day.

What are you most looking forward to learning from the AJA community in particular?

I’m looking forward to learning about Judaism a lot. I’m going to my first Passover dinner tonight, which is exciting. 

I think that every school has unique and different traditions about their community, and it’s not just Judaism or Jewish-based traditions, but how they run field trips, and how they interact with parent-teacher conferences. So learning those little nuanced special things.

Also, I think I can do a good job of highlighting everything that is special about AJA that maybe hasn’t been written down, recorded, or highlighted yet. Every time I’m in that community space, it’s magical. And so I need to start figuring out what’s making it so special.

What stood out to you about the school community while you were interviewing?

It has this very kind of laidback, familiar feel. So, you feel calm right away because there are kids learning in the hallway, and there’s art up on the walls. It feels like a standard school, but calm. 

Then you walk into the classroom, and the academic rigor is high. They were teaching this advanced math lesson when I walked through that blew my mind. The kids were engaged so deeply with it. They were asking really inquisitive questions. They were getting at the root of the math behind it, not just “plugging and chugging” with a formula. 

The students sell the school more than anything. They are charming and lovely, and they’re holding hands in the hallway, and they’re running out to recess together. I mean, it’s just delightful. 

If you were sitting here three years from now, what would success at AJA look like to you?

Number one, I would really like our enrollment numbers to have every grade be at full enrollment. Maybe even a wait list would be nice. 

Success would look like comfort and breathing in our planning, because it’s been so bootstrap- shoestring-everybody’s-in-it-together. I would love to get to a point where everybody can feel like, “Whoa now we can dream big and think about what it will look like when we’re at two classes per grade level. What will it look like for this community if we outgrow the space that we’re in right now?” That’s exciting to me. 

We’re just not quite there yet. I don’t know if we’ll be there in three years. That’s ambitious, but I believe the admissions piece will get there. I feel very confident about that.

How would you describe your leadership style?

I’m frequently told that I meet people where they are. And I’m not an overwhelmer as a leader — ever. So if we have a teacher that needs a lot of support, for example, someone who’s new to teaching or someone who came from a very different teaching background, maybe public schools, you can’t overwhelm them. You have to pare down expectations and prioritize needs just like we do with students. 

Actually, it’s very similar: paring down what a teacher needs to do, helping them do that successfully, and then adding on something else they need to do —only when they’re ready—meeting them where they are. And that is exactly always how I lead.

Did you have maybe a teacher or a mentor who you feel shaped who you are as a teacher/administrator?

My current division head is by far the biggest mentor in my life. She pegged me for leadership and saw something in me that I didn’t even know I was capable of doing. But she has always believed and invested strongly in pushing me outside of my comfort zone, putting me on committees that I didn’t feel like I was ready for. 

First and foremost, though, her leadership style and the way she holds herself to such a high standard. Working with her for the last 12 years has been such an honor because I can see somebody who works tirelessly for the students and for the families. And she has this moral compass that guides her in a way that is inspiring.

What message would you like to share with current and prospective families?

I can’t wait to get to know you. I was at the Girls’ School for four years, and at Trinity for 12 years. And in both places, I fell in love with the community in a way that I can only talk about it in a sentimental-get-choked-up-way because I love it so much. I’m looking forward to having that with AJA, too.

What do you like to do outside of school? 

I’m a nature nut, so I love being outside. I love swimming. I swam competitively in high school, and I have always loved swimming to work out. 

I love hiking. I love being on Ladybird Lake, and walking my dogs on the trail. I have yet to try stand-up paddleboarding, but that’s something lately that everyone seems to love. 

I like cooking. I go in phases of cooking, but I’m in one right now. I’m spending a lot of time on my weekends making food.

And I have two very active teenage boys who play sports. So you will find me many times on the sidelines cheering for them or driving them around Texas so they can compete with their teams.

I also have a pretty big family, and they all live in Austin, so there are a lot of family celebrations. We like to be together. 

I’m also in two book clubs—one I’ve been in for 10 years. I love reading!

Did you grow up in Austin?

No, I grew up in Chicago, surprisingly. I came to Austin because of graduate school, and then my whole family followed me. I was born in Houston — my dad is from Beaumont, but my mom is from St. Louis. So when I was in fourth grade, we moved to Chicago and then stayed there through high school and college in the Midwest.

Then I moved to Austin for graduate school, got married, had kids, and my parents just had to be near their grandbabies. So when Mason and Evan were about two and three or three and four, my parents came. My sisters had already moved here. 

I mean, it’s Austin. It’s not that hard to convince people to move here. It’s a cool place. It’s like that at AJA! It’s why I feel like admissions at AJA won’t be that hard. It’s not hard to sell this place. It’s amazing. You just have to get people in the door.

Is there anything that I didn’t ask about that you feel like you want to say that you want people to know about you? 

I just want everyone to know that I want to know them. I am not an introverted person. I always have an open door, I love meeting and knowing people, and I’m a curious life long learner. I want to know everybody, and I want everybody to know me. I’m very much looking forward to knowing everybody’s name. It should feel like Cheers. I’m excited for the moment when AJA feels like my new home.