empowering design decision-making

Enlighten

Life-long learning is key to keeping our minds vibrant, innovative, and full of fresh ideas. Our brains hold boundless potential, and finding ways to help students of all ages unlock their talents is truly a remarkable gift. I am constantly honing my craft by empowering design decision-making in workshops, classrooms, coursework, and crucial conversations in thought-provoking ways!

My career reflects a commitment to design excellence through both professional and academic achievements. I hold a dual-degree academic background from The University of Cincinnati, known for its nationally acclaimed programs and exceptional academic rigor. My professional experience encompasses technological innovation across traditional, modern, and emerging practice methods. Additionally, I bring teaching experience from Drury University, where I instructed a 3rd-year undergraduate studio, and from Kansas State University’s GPIDEA program, where I taught an online Master’s elective course.

Teaching Statement.
As an educator dedicated to fostering critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, and lifelong learning, my
approach to teaching at the collegiate level is grounded in three core principles: student-centeredness,
interdisciplinary connections, and continuous improvement. As a differently-abled woman, my
commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in educational settings is paramount. Throughout my
career, I have passionately advocated for EDI practices both in academic settings and through active
advocacy. I believe that effective learning methods must be multifaceted, meeting students where they
are and accommodating diverse needs to ensure high achievement.

Architecture is a journey of exploration…

“I learned that there is much more skills in the field that will never be taught in school. Finding the right questions is vital to the learning process and so does acknowledging weaknesses. Afterall, I find it important to balance personal and work life while constantly learning all aspects of life. Architecture is a journey for exploration, and I am proud to be
on this journey as I have the chance [to] explore myself, others, and the larger world that I’ve never reached with my
own senses.”

Encouragement to continuously think outside the box…

“The process had complete creative freedom and control of the program from the Project’s vision and objectives to the terms of design and deliverables- for the first time, the quality of renderings and boards had personality to them. A lot of the appreciation within the process came from the encouragement to continuously think outside the box and not conforming to the constraints of Revit. There was a lot of enjoyment in developing a program that is fun both in terms of design as well as tectonically in structure.”

Thank you for everything…

“Thank you for everything you have done for our section this semester. This is the most I have learned about how the architectural world works since I have been at school and we all really appreciate how much time you spent with each of us.”

Working faster and more proactive…

“One of the parts that was enjoyable was how often we did desk critiques, group work, and mock pin ups. All of these parts of the process allows us to work on our projects, speaking in front of people, and we were able to received feedback from our peers. This process felt like we were working at a faster and more productive rather compared to coming in and just working on whatever we thought we needed to. This gave the class a structure and deadlines of where we should be with work, while not just focusing of board work but program, introductions, concepts, and site photos.”

Pushed me to take things to the next level…

“This project was a great learning experience for me. The open ended nature of the prompt really allowed me to pick a program idea that I was passionate about and meant something to me personally… This project though helped me progress my own style and push what I would usually do in a studio project into some things I have only thought about doing in previous years. While I still feel I made great progress in the studio, my ability to manage my time and handle stress was tested and I would say I passed successfully […] this project really pushed me to take things to the next level and I am thankful for that opportunity and I look forward to more rewarding laborious projects in the future.”

I feel like I’ve grown…

“[I] wanted to say thank you very much for your teaching style and time you devoted to the course. I’m not great at expressing my gratification and feelings on the matter but genuinely you have been the best studio professor I’ve had with your honesty and personalized help, and more. I feel like I’ve grown as an architecture student and as a person through the semester and again thank you for the supportive role you’ve had in both my growth and others.”

2

Collegiate Courses

200+

Hours of Instruction

30

Charrettes, Critiques, Workshops + Open Houses

38

Creative Minds