Tell us a little about your background and how you came to work for RIFLI. 

Education is my background and teaching is my first love.  I started teaching English some five decades ago in Pawtucket.   Half of my time was in the 8th grade and half split between the two city high schools.  I became deeply involved with technology while teaching at Shea High, and spent the last five years working on integrating technology into my curriculum.  I also worked as one of the RITTI (RI Teachers and Technology Initiative) trainers and developed workshops and training sessions for teachers throughout RI.  That interest led me to my second career. In 2000 I had the opportunity to focus more on technology.  Family Education Network (fen.com) needed a teacher/content producer/trainer to work on some of its web-based products.  I accepted the job and began a new and exciting career.  I still focused on education, but from a very different point-of-view.  My technology skills soared, and my content knowledge expanded far beyond grades seven to twelve.  Many of the products I worked on are still alive and in use today on their websites. After leaving FEN, I redirected my attention to education.  I served as the Education Director at Dorcas Place for two years and later as the interim principal of Beacon Charter High School in Woonsocket.  Those two positions rounded out my experience as an educator and manager and prepared me well for this job.

What are some things that you have noticed about RIFLI in your short time with us?

RIFLI is much larger in scope than I realized.  All of the staff that I’ve met so far have been very enthusiastic about the program and seem to love teaching and working with our patrons.  There is a strong sense of belonging to a team everywhere I go. 

What are some goals that you hope our program can work towards this year?

Being involved with a program that is based in a library setting is very exciting.  If teaching is my first love, reading and libraries are a very close second.  I can’t imagine my life without books and my house is usually overflowing with them.  I hope I can somehow merge that sense of excitement and delight into the program and into the lives of our students and patrons. There are a few other things I’d like to see happen this year including more whole group activities that bring all the adults in the class into the activity and changing our assessment test so that teachers can use test results to set classroom goals. 

Since we're talking about teamwork in this issue, tell us some things you think are important qualities in a successful team.

Successful teams share many characteristics: honest, supportive of one another and the program in general, willing to share the work and the fun, tolerant of others, love what they’re doing, freely share opinions and ideas, welcome opinions and ideas from others, and feel comfortable relying on one another for help when it’s needed.

Tell us one thing about you that we probably don't know or wouldn't discover easily. 

I used to raise and show quarter horses.  I have mild panic attacks when I have to speak into a microphone.

Tell us about your family.

This spring I’ll be celebrating my 30th wedding anniversary.  My husband, Michael, is a social studies teacher at Jenks Jr. High in Pawtucket.  He’s in the process of getting one of our chocolate labs certified as a therapy dog.  Therapy dogs and handlers visit schools, nursing homes, hospitals, etc.  Maybe Kelsey and Michael will be visiting our program one day. My son, Ryan, still lives at home.  He works at TF Greene Airport as a baggage handler. We also share our home with a second chocolate lab, one of Kelsey’s daughters, and a very fat cat named Garth.

What is your favorite book?

My favorite book is always the one I’m currently reading.  So many books, so little time…. I devour one or two books a day in the summer and during vacation breaks.