Experience

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  The marvelwood school

  Aug 1986 - Jun 1989

  High school teacher of biology, human physiology, and geometry

  Taught honors and regular Biology, honors and regular Human Anatomy and Physiology, honors and regular Geometry; Coached/Moderated Winter Wilderness Ways (nordic skiing, shoeshoeing, hiking, survival skills, canoeing), Softball, Literary Review, Science Club

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  Mother mcauley liberal arts high school

  Aug 1989 - Jun 1993

  High school biology teacher

  Taught Honors, High Avg. and Regular Biology (different preps for each); Coached Swim Team, founded and moderated the Environmental Club, founded and moderated the Science Bowl team

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  The shedd aquarium

  Oct 1991 - Mar 1992

  Curriculum writer

  Helped to write curriculum on the Shedd's Oceanarium to go with Bill Moyer's _New Explorers_ show on PBS.

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  Bremen district 228

  Aug 1993 - Jun 1999

  High school biology and horticulture teacher

  Taught Honors and Regular Biology, Horticulture, Plant Science; co-taught (with SpEd teacher) in Plant Science; Coached/Moderated Boys and Girls Swimming, FFA, Horticulture Club, Scholastic Bowl (reader); Other duties included working on the Gifted and the Block Scheduling Committees, as well as being a union delegate; developed Biology, Plant Science and Horticulture curricula; developed Gifted Differentiation program for the Natural Sciences

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  Center for agricultural and environmental research and training

  Aug 1999 - Jun 2000

  Curriculum writer

  Wrote 8 lessons for the Horticulture curriculum for the State of Illinois.

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  Cook county school district 130

  Apr 2003 - Apr 2015

  Member of the board of education

  In addition to the regular duties of a school board member for a large, urban school district (4000+ students, budget over $43 million), I was on the Wellness, Technology, Foreign Language, Gifted and Policy Committees. I wrote 3 grants (and won 2) for a total of over $150,000 for the federal Safe Routes to School.

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  Blue island bicycle club

  Jan 2005 - Jan 2020

  President

  Organized and lead rides, set agendas and ran meetings, scheduled special guests, maintained website. Stopped rides due to COVID19.

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  Friday night bike crew

  Apr 2005 - Mar 2020

  Ride leader

  Organized, supervised and ran the highly successful Friday Night Bike Crew, a kid-specific bike club that did weekly rides, year round. The program ended due to COVID19.Due to interest and expanding ability of my students, I developed another bike-ed program focused on teens: the Saturday Morning Training Rides which averaged 20 miles/ride (100+ miles/month).

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  Active transportation alliance

  May 2005 - now

  Member of the board

  General board duties and committee work for a large non-profit focused on walking, biking and public transit. Board president 2011-2014. Executive Committee member 2011-2017.

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  Friends of the cal-sag trail

  Jan 2007 - Apr 2011

  Vice president

  Ran meetings when necessary, helped with special events and fundraisers, worked outreach tables at community events

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  Eisenhower area swim club

  Jun 2008 - Feb 2020

  Coach

  Coach for the EASC team. Responsible for organizing and running practices, doing lineups for meets and championship competitions, teaching swim skills, supervising junior staff members

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  Active transportation alliance-formerly the chicagoland bicycle federation

  May 2009 - Nov 2012

  President of the board

  Led search for new Executive Director of the organization in 2010. Responsible for annual reviews of E.D., oversight of budget process, strategic planning and general management oversight. Speaker at various formal events. Chairman of the nomination committee. Member of Transit, Safe Routes to School and other committees.

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  Cal-sag cycles

  May 2011 - Oct 2011

  Educator/trainer

  Grant funded program that took at-risk kids, gave them training on how to build and repair a bicycle, taught them the League of IL Bicyclists Traffic Skills 101 Class, and took them out for area rides to develop their bicycling skills.

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  Instituto de progreso latino

  Aug 2017 - Jun 2018

  Science teacher

  Responsible for teaching Physics, Integrated Science 1 (Biology orientation) and Integrated Science 2 (Chemistry orientation); developed all curricula, did unit plans and pacing guides, created and used frequent labs in instruction, created all content used in the classroom as we did not have text books or lab books, found and brought in donations of lab equipment as there was zero infrastructure for any lab work. Worked using the powerful restorative justice model of education to challenge high trauma students to achieve, with the ultimate goal of high school graduation. Show less

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  Cics prairie

  Jul 2018 - Jun 2019

  5th grade math and science teacher

  Responsible for educating a diverse classroom of 5th graders, with the focus on Math and Science. Worked on Social Emotional Learning using Restorative Justice principles.

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  St. francis de sales high school, chicago il

  Aug 2019 - now

  High school science teacher

  Currently responsible for teaching AP Biology, Physics and Biology, but I have also taught Earth Science and Anatomy & Physiology as well. I have developed curricula for all sections with a focus on Inquiry-based instruction and meeting NGSS standards. Moderator of the Anime Club and Ecology Club. Nominated for a Golden Apple Award in 2021. Was given recognition from the East Side Chamber of Commerce for Teaching in 2022. Won the Elizabeth Morse Genius Fellowship in May, 2023 which will allow my students to collect air quality data to share with real scientists for the Calumet Region of IL/IN. Show less