Education: UC Berkeley, BA

Physics. My summer lab jobs were always interesting. One summer, I was on a rooftop at night running a detector measuring cosmic background radiation from the Big Bang. Another, I set up a crystal-growing room for a team researching superconductors. My favorite was working with a group trying to figure out the nature of dark matter.

In high school, I’d wanted to teach but worried it would get boring. The idea came back, and I got excited about trying it for a year or two before grad school. Miraculously, I landed at College Prep, an incredible place to teach. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done—but I was hooked. I never looked back, and no, it’s never gotten boring!

Teaching is my passion. I love developing curriculum that breaks complex ideas into small, digestible pieces. When learned step by step and connected together, students can build up to truly complex understanding.

I also love working with students—each one is unique, with their own way of thinking and learning. Figuring out how to support each one is endlessly rewarding. When things “click” it’s a shared joy.

The students make this a dream job. Two things stand out: their curiosity and their kindness. Even on a Friday, the last block of the day, they’re leaning forward, asking questions. After 35 years in the classroom, I still get questions I’ve never heard before.

The kindness shows in small ways—loaned pencils, patient peer explanations, and grace during lab mishaps. During a physics design challenge, one student’s machine worked perfectly right away. She spent the rest of the block supporting classmates—fetching materials, offering suggestions, and encouraging others. I see this kind of generosity all the time.

I love Champions of the Soul, a student-run tradition where anyone in the community can nominate someone for a kind act, a great event, or meaningful support. The declarations are read aloud in assembly. The students do it purely out of kindness. It’s wonderful.