My career didn't start in instructional design. It started in the classroom.

For more than a decade, I taught in higher education, where I designed courses, developed curriculum, evaluated learning, and spent a lot of time figuring out what helps people actually learn, and use what they're learning. Teaching taught me something I still carry into every project: good education starts with people, not content.

Then COVID changed the way we taught almost overnight. As my own teaching became increasingly technology-based, I found myself exploring new tools and figuring out how to make online learning work. I also began helping fellow professors navigate and adopt EdTech solutions—an experience that showed me how much I enjoyed the intersection of education, technology, and problem-solving.

That experience eventually led me to instructional design.

I began applying what I had learned as an educator to digital learning: breaking down complex ideas, designing around real-world needs, experimenting with new technologies, and turning educational goals into experiences people could actually use. The transition felt less like changing careers and more like expanding the work I'd already been doing.

My academic background has reinforced that perspective. Studying English literature taught me to think about communication and narrative; studying cultural studies taught me to look closely at people and the contexts that shape how they think, communicate, and learn.

Today, I bring all of those experiences together. I’m interested in the human side of learning just as much as the technology—and I think the best solutions come from understanding both.