I was born and
raised in Nova Scotia, Canada.
I attended local public schools
where I participated in student
government as president of junior and senior students' council; I was
also a member of the jazz and concert bands.In Grade 11, I won the Lieutenant Governor's Medallion for combined academic achievement and extra-curricular involvement. After graduating with my
Bachelor of Education Degree from Dalhousie University in 1991, I taught
in Toronto area elementary schools for 11 years—eight years as a special education consultant teacher in inclusion classrooms/English as a second language teacher.
From 2002-2005, I completed my Ph.D. in Special Education/Literacy at Indiana University Bloomington. I am currently a faculty member at Washington State University. My campus is located in Vancouver, just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon.