I was born in Amsterdam, Holland. I have lived in Tokyo (Japan), Ohio, and New York. I love all the places I have lived although they are all very different. After graduating from Ohio University with a special education degree, I proceeded to teach in Cleveland Public Schools. I then moved back to Holland and taught there for few years. In 2001, I moved to New York to obtain a master’s degree in the reading specialist program at Teachers College, Columbia University. I fell in love with New York and accepted a teaching job at a charter school in Harlem. And finally in 2003, I joined the Earth School community!