I am a native of Seattle Washington, where I was raised by two public school teachers who instilled in me a deep love of learning and an instinct for teaching. As an undergraduate I attended the University of Washington, where I studied Physics. I then went to graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, where I earned a PhD in the History of Science.

I served as a member of the History faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell for twelve years, where I taught undergraduate and graduate courses in World History, Western Civilization, the History of Science, and European History. My scholarship explored the intersection of the consumer revolution with the developing scientific sensibilities of Enlightenment thought by examining the cultural and economic history of scientific book publishing and the scientific instrument trade centered in 18thcentury London. My publications included articles in the journal History of Science, The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, and The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science. I spent the 2001-2002 academic year as a Fellow at the Charles Warren Center for American History at Harvard University.

After 2005, I worked in university administration, serving as Chair of History at Murray State University in Kentucky, Associate Dean of General Education at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania, and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York. My focus as an administrator was working to develop innovative approaches to undergraduate education that would ensure that students received a thorough grounding in disciplines beyond their major course of study, and that they mastered the high-level skills that are expected of a well-educated university student.

Since leaving higher education, I have taught World History, Political Science, Economics, Physics, and Mathematics at high schools in California, Pennsylvania, and Texas (where I hold my teaching certificate). My work as a high school history teacher has proven to be among the most enjoyable professional experiences I have had. The high school environment permits me to get to know the personalities of my students better, and to help them identify their strengths as young scholars. My students know that I understand the demands of American colleges, and can help prepare them to be successful from their first day of classes. They know that I come to work every day resolved to make sure that they are not just successful students, but also that they are prepared to go out an engage with the world as happy, confident young adults.

Throughout my life, I have always loved to travel. In addition to visiting all 48 of the continental United States, I have lived in Italy and the UK, and travelled to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Canada, and Mexico. In 2004 I visited China and resolved to return. These experiences, combined with my love of travel and exploring new cultures, led me to China, where I am proud to apply my knowledge of History and my expertise in American higher education to help the hard-working students of the Changzhou AP Center realize their educational ambitions.