Curiosity took me from a community college classroom to a Harvard PhD to 4,500 miles of open ocean.

I teach and tutor science and math, mentor students on research and academic writing, and write about what comes after the sailing.

Wherever you're starting from, that's a great place to be.

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Curiosity is a superpower.

Who I am

PhD, Biological Sciences in Public Health Former Head Teaching Fellow Former federal scientist, U.S. GAO Sailed 11 U.S. states & 4 countries (2025–2026) 10+ years teaching & tutoring

There's so much to discover in this amazing world.

At 22, I'd never taken a science class. Then an instructor at Portland Community College asked whether I'd thought about being a biology major. That one question turned into everything after it: a full ride to Harvard for a PhD, a teaching fellowship where I found out I loved explaining hard things to people, then six years as a federal scientist evaluating health and science programs and briefing Congress. I wrote every report for a 10th-grade reading level, because the point was never to sound smart. It was to be understood. It was work I believed in, and I was good at it.

At 38, I had a different dream I'd never tested. So in June 2025 I moved onto a small sailboat with my husband and our 18-year-old cat. I learned to sail from scratch. The only reason I believed I could was that I'd watched people who started where I was do it first. I only had what was absolutely needed (I didn't even have a working fridge). Then over 368 nights we sailed 4,500 miles from North Carolina, through the Caribbean, to Guatemala.

I'm prouder of that year than almost anything I've done.

It also taught me what I really needed, and most of it had been there before I ever left: a community built over years, work focused on a mission that made an impact on real people, and using my skills and passion to help others to the best of my ability.

I discovered that every good thing in my life has come from someone showing me something was possible after I'd told myself "no way." That's the throughline, and it took an ocean to see it fully.

These days I teach and tutor science and math, and I write about what comes next. I'm moving back to the U.S. this fall.

Teaching & tutoring

Every session starts the same way: with what you already understand.

Then we build from there, with real examples, until the thing clicks.

I teach and tutor biology, chemistry, and math through pre-calculus, and I mentor students on research projects, academic writing, and study skills. Because I've done research for years in a real lab, I can teach the skills and thinking behind it: asking right-sized questions, experimental design, data literacy, and lab safety.

I actually struggled in high school. I started community college at 22 in remedial math, writing, and science, transferred to Oregon State, and finished with a doctorate from Harvard. I know what it's like to be the student who's behind and sure everyone else gets it. Thankfully I had teachers and mentors who never gave up on me. So I lead with empathy and never mistake struggling for incapable.

I also know that confidence & skill grow together. I've never seen one show up without the other.

Biology Chemistry Math through pre-calculus AP prep Research mentoring Academic writing Study skills

Curiosity took me from a community college classroom to a Harvard PhD to 4,500 miles of open ocean.

Every session starts the same way: with what you already understand.

If any of this sounds like your kind of thing, say hello.