Before starting Agora Education, I spent about fifteen years teaching writing, history, and literature to students from elementary through high school. Along the way, I earned a Montessori certification through the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), which I used to build and lead upper elementary and lower adolescent (middle school) Montessori classrooms in California and Texas. I’ve developed curricula in several subject areas for two national networks of private schools and, for a few years, was a traveling trainer and mentor to other educators.

The humanities have been central to my life as long as I can remember. I was the kid who amassed a library in the back seat of the family car so I’d never be without options during a road trip; I was the teen who only bought pants with pockets big enough to fit paperbacks. I’ve seen too many students who have become cynical about learning because their school experiences are bland, disconnected, or sterile—or who remain passionate about learning, but feel that they’re left to do it on their own. Curiosity and intellectual ambition are natural for kids, and should be normal; through my classes and my tutoring, I aim to help keep that spark alive.