I've been teaching in higher education -- at community colleges and universities -- for over twenty-five years, beginning my career as a teacher at a community college in 1995 in my Canadian hometown, and yes, Canada is where I was born. I got married to a Canadian in 1997 and moved with my husband to the U.S. in 1998 to pursue a Ph.D. in English Literature at UCSB after having completed a B.A. in English (Creative Writing emphasis) and an M.A. in English (Cultural Studies emphasis) at the University of Windsor. I started teaching at Oxnard College and Ventura College in 2005 as soon as I received my green card and thus permission to work outside the confines of my F-1/I-90 status as an international student. On a more personal note, we've been rescuing dogs since moving to California, whether as fosters or adoptees, and have been raising our daughter since July, 2010. While juggling research, reading, parenting, and teaching, I also write creatively every morning (see some publications below).

I am Ventura College's Classroom Support Specialist and lead Apple technician.  I have been working with computers since I was 6 and multimedia and A/V systems since I was 16.  (As of 2020) I bring 39 years of experience with Apple computers, 25 years with Windows computers, and 28 years of multimedia, live audio, audio recording, and audio visual systems.  I have a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, completed coursework for the Cisco Certified Network Associate and Cisco Certified Support Professional programs, and I am certified as an Apple support professional.  I have training and experience in installing, implementing, and running Polycom conference room and classroom systems, recording and streaming systems, and server control systems.  I have years of experience in installing SP Controls systems in classrooms and conference room systems.  While here at Ventura College over the past 6 years, I have been working heavily with our Crestron systems by learning on the job and receiving certified training in the implementation, programming, and running of these complex A/V systems.

I sometimes feel as though I have a Ph.D. in "Did you turn it off and on again?"

Working in IT is fun, and sometimes challenging. I really enjoy helping the staff and faculty and the occasional student that happens to call.

It's always a joy to help others and I truly enjoy troubleshooting and figuring out computer issues. Never a dull moment in IT.

I love working here at Ventura College, and the people I work with are an amazing team of techs, I feel grateful to be here, and I think we have a great team here in our IT department.