My very first foray into special education was as a high school student. My after-school and summer job was as a teacher's aide at a center for children with developmental disabilities. After graduating undergraduate school, I taught 7th grade special education in Washington D.C. on an alternative license. I attended George Mason University in the evenings to earn my license and M.Ed in Special Education. Following D.C., I headed to the Rio Grande Valley, TX to serve as a Special Education Program Director with Teach for America (TFA). TFA brought me up to Colorado where I served as the Director of Special Education for several years before transitioning to CU Denver where I created the ASPIRE Special Education alternative licensure program. I now serve as the Assistant Director at ASPIRE, and continue to oversee our Special Education programming.