I have wanted to be a teacher since before I could write. After teaching students in special education programs for 10 years and supervising programs  for 6 more,  I was recruited to product development for special education by industry leader, Mayer-Johnson Company. I have led award-winning product teams in edtech. I led successful strategic selling efforts with top U.S. school districts. I have been responsible for product selection, pricing, language translation, licensing and product positioning. At the peak of my career, I  connected with like-minded entrepreneurs and co-founded the startup, Minds Untapped. My experience and professional network over the past 20+ years informs our position in the autism community and fuels my passion for creating a platform that people choose and use.

Highlights over the years include:

• Won Best Game-Based Solution for Students with Special Needs, L3 Skills, Software Industry Association Award in 2019 (SIIA Awards)

• Recipient of the Outstanding Alumni of the Year Award, 2017 Wright State University, Ohio for work on literacy gaps and accessible materials for marginalized people around the world

• Generated accessible documents for people with learning, language or ability gaps in coordination with:

  • The  United Nations

  • The National Weather Service

  • The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

  • Netsmartz

  • Kidsmartz

  • The National Autism Association

  • Academy of American Poets, poets.org

  • Hour of Code, code.org

• Authored/published materials:

  • Social Skills for Nonreaders

  • More Social Skills for Nonreaders

  • Math Exercises for Nonreaders

  • Step Up to Math

  • Math Exercises for Nonreaders on CD

  • Step Up to Math on CD

• Authored whitepapers on topics of authentic access including:

  • What Do History and Research Say About Symbols and Literacy?

• Led the development of the Vendor Brief on Universal Design for Learning, by the IDEA Partnership through the U.S. Department of Education

• Co-founder of Minds Untapped, LLC., a digital platform for people with disabilities- our  first solution delivers actionable strategies to families and children affected by autism

• Directed and grew product lines for learners with complex learning needs  for large industry dominant companies (Mayer-Johnson, DynaVox and n2y) for over 12 years

Teaching and administration skills from school districts are indispensable in the edtech space for creating the very best outcomes at micro and macro levels. From the passage of school levies to building programs, evaluating teachers, negotiating contracts, and navigating challenging meetings, all of these lived experiences apply to entrepreneurship especially in this sector. My Master’s degree in special education and child development and combined on-the-job experiences, make me uniquely qualified to lead a company championing the needs of children and families affected by disability.