Faculty & staff

I am a recent addition to the School of Education, and I’m delighted to be joining such an exciting community! Previously, I was faculty at Douglas College, and at DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia in Copenhagen, Denmark.

I grew up in Alaska, USA, but moved to Denmark during my undergrad, to study music and philosophy at Copenhagen University. While there, I discovered the profession of the pædagog, (social pedagogy), which fit so well with my approach to teaching music, that I stayed there to pursue that education. I worked for several years as a pædagog, focusing on homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges, and then later with young children in daycare contexts. When my child was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, I changed direction to focus on neurodiversity and disability.

I completed my MA in Educational Psychology at Aarhus University in 2013, including a social praxis research project exploring the school experiences of youth and adults with autism diagnoses. My research participants felt their social experiences of schooling had been more important than their academic learning, so I listened to them and shifted my research focus to the social exclusion – and inclusion – processes that shape the lives of neurodivergent folks.

In 2017, my kids and I moved to BC for my PhD studies in Philosophy of Education at Simon Fraser University. My doctoral research, completed in 2022, focused on role-playing games (like Dungeons & Dragons), neurodiversity, and inclusive educational practices.

Memberships

Inclusive Education Partners Group (IEPG)

Teaching Interests

Reflective practices, inclusive education, connecting theory and practice, learning through the lifespan, philosophy of education, disability studies in education, games, and storytelling. I particularly appreciate the opportunity to mentor students in practicum, and to be part of their journey and growth in their professional identity and competencies.

Research Interests

My scholarship centres the lived experiences of neurodivergence and disability, especially in school and learning contexts. I am also very interested in games in education, and role-playing games as inclusive and collaborative practices. Relationality, posthumanism, and post-qualitative inquiry shape my research as well as my teaching philosophy, along with Disability Justice, anti-racist, and anti-colonial practices.