I am a wife, mother, grandmother and educator. I have lived in several places in the US, but the longest, and my children’s hometown, is Baltimore. in 2004, I moved to New York to join the School of Education faculty at New York Institute of Technology. My early years teaching includes high school and middle school Spanish, English, and English as a Second Language. In New York I have taught primarily graduate courses in Instructional Technology online, at the United Federation of Teachers headquarters in Manhattan, and in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Before coming to New York, I was Associate Director of the Center for Technology at Johns Hopkins University where I worked on research and professional development programs for Maryland State Department of Education and several Maryland school districts for applications of instructional technology with students with special needs.

My company is Education for Digital Age Solutions (EDA Solutions) which seeks to enhance educational uses of technology in schools, colleges, and universities to improve opportunities for all students, K-12 and post-secondary,  to access effective preparation for entering the workforce.  To identify effective programs, my company conducts program evaluation on National Science Foundation STEM grants, masters and doctorate instructional technology program evaluation, curriculum and assessment development aligned with national standards, professional development and technical report writing.

I started out as foreign language teacher, with the hopes of travelling, and I have travelled quite a bit. In my career in higher education, I developed a passion for helping teachers learn how to teach better. Upon retiring from NYIT, I started EDA Solutions. I mentor teachers and college professors in the school of engineering and I work on projects with agencies and institutions with an educational focus for STEM, special education and educational technology.

I received my B.A. in Spanish from the University of Arkansas and went on to continue my education at Johns Hopkins University, where I received my M.S. in Reading and my Ed.D. in Special Education and Technology.

The biggest challenge for me throughout my career, was feeling that women are in second place, more so in engineering, but in higher education as well. The higher education system as a whole is a direct reflection of the country in regard to the equality of men and women – deans, provosts, presidents are mostly men. The inequality is very apparent.

My greatest strength is my understanding of situations and the complexity of their ecological environment. When I came to New York in 2004, I started teaching teachers and I was amazed at their fortitude and perseverance. I was, and still am, motivated to make a difference by exploring new ways to teach with technology. I’m an advocate for the students and their schools to get access to whatever research says is best and most effective.

It is difficult to choose a single greatest because many of the things I have done have served as important stepping stones toward great opportunities. I am very proud of having served as the President of Teacher Education SIG of the International Society for Technology and Education. By virtue of that I was selected to work with Microsoft on an advisory board aimed at discovered how they could make more of impact in higher education, and I was selected from that group to be an international trainer. As a result, I had an amazing opportunity to travel the world, visiting foreign countries near and far, to train university professors on how to use technology in their teaching.

Having had the opportunity to travel the world with Microsoft, I would like to do the same type of work travelling locally throughout the United States. I have plans to deliver speeches, hold workshops and conferences -I also may write another book!

I am inspired to continue my work - there still being so much to do! Education is one of the slowest areas to evolve and progress. The processes are outdated and change is critical.

I would like to be remembered for my outlook or my philosophy that you can rise to the occasion. My mother used to say, “Never say can’t”, and I instill that in my students, and teach them to instill that in their students. If we all have high expectations of each other, I believe that people would rise to the occasion more often than not.

• League of Women Voters
• Staten Island Democratic Association
• Staten Island Women's Political Caucus
• Staten Island NAACP
• International Society of Technology and Education (ISTE)
• Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE)
• American Evaluation Association (AEA)
• American Educational Research Association (AERA)

• New York State Assembly Certificate of Merit for Participation in Intellectual Entrepreneurship: The Business of Schools
• Al Nahda National School for Girls Certificate of Appreciation, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Certificate of Recognition for ten years Dedicated Service, New York Institute of Technology
• Continental Who’s Who Registry for National Business Leaders
• The President’s Volunteer Service Award presented by the Corporation for National and Community Service.
• ISTE Special Interest Group Recognition for Outstanding Service

• Johns Hopkins University Alumni
• The University of Arkansas Alumni

I enjoy yoga, reading and I am a news junkie. I also love spending time with my children and grandchildren.