Enriching the lives of young people since 1999
—

I’ve been working with children since I was a kid myself. My sister is 5 years younger than me, so I was caring for her and her friends before I was in 6th grade. During undergrad at Virginia Commonwealth University, I discovered that study groups I lead had a powerful impact on other students and myself. After graduating, I moved to the Bay Area in California and worked as an intern with 826 Valencia (an incredible non-profit started by the author Dave Eggers). Here is where I realized that my calling was to work with young people.

I ran a family assistant business after that, and while child care was fulfilling, I wanted to make a bigger impact on the community. I studied the Montessori Method at Saint Mary’s College of California. For 3 years, I worked as a teacher at an incredible public elementary school, Golden Oak Montessori of Hayward. Despite loving the community of staff and families, I moved back home to Virginia to be closer to my family.

I’ve been in Richmond for four years now and have worked with some incredible programs in the area. During the 2018 and 2019 school year, I learned all about the Reggio Emilia approach to education working in the extended day program with Sabot at Stony Point. This approach resonated with me deeply. We truly fostered a love for learning through exploration, play, and discovery.

In the summer of 2019, I thought I was living in a dream because I spent nearly everyday at the James River working with students from local community centers as an Outdoor Educator with the James River Park System. From botany and biology lessons to outdoor recreation like hiking, biking, and kayaking, I had so much fun exploring with students in our little slice of the natural world.

For the next three years, I was fortunate to work full time with Richmond Montessori School. During my time with RMS, I worked as a lower and upper elementary assistant as well as the lead writing workshop teacher for 1st-4th grade students. I learned so much during my time at this school and the pandemic was a major catalyst for my own personal growth.

While we were remote learning in the Spring of 2020, I once again found myself spending most of my time exploring Richmond’s park system. I created videos to teach our students and did “virtual hikes” holding my phone to explore with the kids through google meets. I knew that connecting students to the outdoors was my calling and my passion in education.

At the end of the school year in 2022, I made the decision to start my own nature-based education program called Youth Outdoor Workshops. We partnered with local schools and home-school collectives to provide enriching outdoor programs to their students. From nature exploration to arts education, our after school programs reached hundreds of elementary students across the Richmond Area. Every summer, we ran camps adventuring through Forest Hill and the James River Park.

In the Fall of 2025, I transitioned to an advisory role with YOW as my family and I went to travel Europe for a year. As we’ve been exploring Europe, I’ve met with educators, explored parks, and seen youth programs across the continent. I’ve also focused on teaching my 3 year old daughter throughout the trip. Building materials as we travel and creating a roaming curriculum for her to engage with the cultural experiences at her level has been a rewarding challenge.

As I move forward and look to the future, I want to support students, educators, and families to connect with their local community wherever that is. I believe that if we can build creativity, curiosity, and compassion in our neighborhoods than we can build a better world. It all starts with igniting the spark of discovery in our young people.