I am an award-winning and published Instructional Designer (ID) with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and am known as the Instructional Design Rockstar. As an ID in higher education, I work with faculty to create student-centered and active online courses that align with high-quality standards. My passions lie in humanizing learning, student success, active learning, and utilizing learning analytics to improve course experience. I am also an Adjunct Professor at Michigan State University and Arizona State University.

I began working in education as a middle school math and science teacher in 2012. Using my teaching experiences with curriculum design and my love for technology, I found my true niche in the instructional design field in 2015. After nine years as an ID, my passion for sharing my expertise with the online learning field has led me to be published in Educause Review and Journal of Applied Instructional Design, become an active member of Educause, Online Learning Consortium, and UPCEA, and the creation of my Be an Instructional Design Rockstar podcast.

My research focuses on instructional design practices, including relationships between IDs and faculty during online course development. I have also explored access, equity, inclusive practices, active learning in online courses, and learning analytics. I have also served as the Managing Editor for Current Issues in Education and a reviewer for multiple academic journals. 

I am a graduate of Arizona State University (2022, Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Innovation), the Online Learning Consortium's Institute for Emerging Leaders in Online Learning (2018), Michigan State University (2015, Master of Arts in Educational Technology), and University of Michigan-Dearborn (2012, Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education). 

Personally, I am a wife and a mother to a 6-year-old daughter who loves playing soccer and is an active girl scout. I am the co-leader for my daughter's girl scout troop, an active member in her community, and a former board member of the local Parks and Recreation Committee. I absolutely love animals have have four rescue dogs.