I have a Masters in Teaching from Columbia University’s Teachers College and a Bachelors from Boston University’s School of Education. I always wanted to teach, and I was lucky enough to find that I had a knack for helping people understand difficult material.

After ten years as a classroom teacher, I became increasingly drawn to working with kids one-on-one and curious how to best help the students I saw who were having a difficulty doing well in school. Who was out there helping those kids? I started trying to find out, and my research led me to the Association of Educational Therapists. Without wasting any time, I started a post-Masters certificate program in Educational Therapy.

The following year, in 2006, I finished the program and started my private practice at my current location in Hartford’s West End. This was when my real education began. I have learned a ton from the smart, creative young men and women I’ve had the privilege to work with, and from their parents, too. I have also gotten expert guidance from my colleagues in AET all over the country, and am proud to have completed the many hours of professional mentoring, written case study and ethics exam that made up the rigorous board certification process. In 2012 I became the first board certified educational therapist in the state of Connecticut.

For many years, I was resistant to working with any students virtually. (I did do it during the winter of 2012 when Connecticut was “closed on Mondays.” A series of winter storms caused school closings and dangerous travel for several weeks, always on a Monday!) Then in 2020 the pandemic hit, and I had to learn some new tricks. I discovered some great tools and became very comfortable working with students virtually. To this day, I continue to meet with students either in person or virtually, whichever works best for them on any particular day, and it has really added to the flexibility of my private practice.

During school year 2024-2025, I decided to lean in to my enjoyment of and success working with students on mathematics, and I refreshed my calculus skills so I could continue to help students with math right through senior year. It was about this same time that I also greatly expanded my own use and understanding of AI, and I am working to help my students learn how to use these powerful tools for their benefit rather than their detriment (or as I tell them, “for good, not evil”). I continue to learn from and with my students, who give me hope for the future.