I was born and raised in Oakland, California, the child of Italian immigrants who instilled strong Catholic and humanitarian values in me. Education was so important to my parents that they made many sacrifices to allow me to attend Catholic schools through High School. Following graduation, I studied psychology and public health at UC Berkeley and then went on to receive a Masters of Counseling Psychology at John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, CA. As a counselor, my focus was on school-aged children and families. Life can and does take some interesting turns, however, and I found myself with a PT job working with an autistic child in his home-based program. My work with this child led me back to school for a Master’s in Education at Holy Names University in Oakland as well as a certification in Educational Therapy. While in Oakland I worked at Raskob Day School and Learning Institute as a classroom teacher as well as a 1:1 educational therapist. Following that, I was the K-5 Learning Specialist at a private school in San Francisco.
Joining the SJF community is one of the best decisions I have made and I am so grateful to have landed in such a special place. Over the past 10 years here at SJF, I have become a certified Orton-Gillingham practitioner and received Tier II training in Collaborative Problem Solving. In 2021-2022 I am working towards a certification to teach yoga, mindfulness, and SEL (social-emotional learning) to children, adults, and communities.