I went to school to become a teacher, but I knew I wanted a deeper connection with those that I served and began my career in workforce development at Upper Peninsula Michigan Works! While there, I administered every program under the Michigan Works! umbrella including the Jobs for Michigan's Graduates (JMG) program. That led me to my final role at Upper Peninsula Michigan Works!, that of a JMG Specialist at the Marquette-Alger Technical Middle College (MATMC). In the Fall of 2020, I joined the Marquette-Alger RESA team full time. I fell in love with the early middle college movement for the same reasons I loved JMG – they provide an innovative solution that is leading system changes to better serve youth with a focus on opportunity youth. Bringing these two incredible programs together is one of the things I’m most proud of. I am proud that I’ve been part of JMG since 2014 with experience as a Specialist and Manager, and with in-school, out-of-school, and alternative program models.
Bringing my passion for helping youth succeed to a mission-focused team like Youth Solutions energizes me to do whatever is within my abilities to ensure our partners are equipped and motivated to do this critical work.
I have been married to husband Kevin for 16 years. My mom, Tami, doesn’t live with us but is absolutely a member of the family. We have a dog named Bugs, and two cats, Ozzy and Ash. I love anything related to food – I love eating, watching shows about food, cooking… everything except washing dishes.
To learn about the rest of the Youth Solutions team, visit the leadership page of our website, here.