Prek - 12 + Higher education
I began my career in the holistic health and visual art worlds. During this time, I started to think about how much easier and brighter life could be for everyone if we cultivated tools of wellness, self-awareness, and creativity from a young age. This goal of merging the worlds of wellness, the arts, and education prompted me to earn a master’s in education. I wanted to make schools healthier, more holistic and joyful places to be for both educators and students. We need to support teacher wellness in order to support student wellness and vice-versa.
Inspired by integrating education, creativity, wellness, and personal growth, these are some areas in which I consult/teach/speak:
Developing professional development, mentorship, and leadership programs that are based in mindfulness, inclusivity, and creativity.
Creating curricula, programming, and evaluative measures based in mindfulness and creativity.
Focusing as much on faculty/staff wellness as student wellness. They mirror each other.
Leading wellness workshops for faculty, staff, students and community members, such as meditation, yoga, healthy lifestyle habits, and mindful art.
Current and Recent Work Includes:
Developing a Mindful Pedagogy Continuing Education Series for PreK-12 and Higher Education.
Presenting Mindful + Artful Thinking for Inclusive Teaching at Jeffco School District’s Spring Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Expo for Educators.
Pioneering the integration of mindfulness practices into on-ground and on-line teaching and curricula.
Developing a program for Mindful Mentorship™
Leading weekly mindfulness and meditation seminars for students, staff and faculty in a higher education setting.
Serving as Subject Matter Expert, affiliate faculty and assessor at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, designing and teaching: Introduction to Art Education, Methods I and II of Art Education, and Philosophy of Art Education.
Integrating Artful Thinking into teaching and learning and leading professional development offerings around Artful Thinking. Artful Thinking is a research-based program developed by Harvard’s Project Zero (a research center focused on thinking, education and creativity). AT cultivates mindful ways of thinking, such as observation, reflection, curiosity, noticing complexity, and the taking of multiple perspectives.
Integrating mindful learning approaches, as researched by Harvard Professor, Ellen Langer, into teaching and curricula.
Developing programs, curricula and evaluative measures (RedLine’s social justice EPIC Arts Program being one example).
Developing continuing education and graduate courses for teachers. While at CU Denver, I envisioned and co-developed The Engaged Classroom Graduate Certificate: Integrating Academics, Community, Culture and Creativity.
Serving as an organization’s wellness ambassador.