Hello

I am a design thinker who teaches possibility. Drawing on more than twelve years in the university classroom with over two decades as an entrepreneur and executive producer of digital learning games, I have learned that students are most engaged when learning moves beyond understanding to imagining and creating solutions.

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To me, that is critical and creative thinking in practice: asking “Why?”, “What if?”, and “What else?”-- and then guiding students to create answers through Design Thinking, game-based learning, and digital literacy. The work is student-generated: they translate evidence and lived perspectives into artifacts that solve problems.

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With an MPH in Public Health,  a PhD in Environmental Sciences (One Health), and a Bachelor’s Degree in English, my teaching sits at the intersection of public health, environmental science, the humanities, and technology. The portfolio that follows documents how these principles show up in my online course designs, assignments, assessment practices, and mentoring.

 

This portfolio is organized to make the evidence easy to find and evaluate. Use the navigation menu above to locate the following required sections:

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1. Teaching Philosophy
   (Section 1: Philosophy of Online Teaching & Mentoring)
   Detailed here are the principles that guide my online pedagogy and course design.
    

2. Vita & Acknowledgements
   (Section 2: Teaching Vita & Acknowledgments)
   This section outlines my academic and professional trajectory, as well as some of the wonderful people who made it possible.
    

3. Excellence & Innovation
   (Section 3: Evidence of Teaching Excellence & Innovation)
   Here you will find curated artifacts that align with my principles, including prompts, rubrics, student work samples, and feedback.
    

4. Effectiveness & Impact
   (Section 4: Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness & Impact)
   This section demonstrates effectiveness through student evaluations, learning transfer outcomes, and two letters of support.

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I have received recognition that reflects sustained student engagement and applied learning, including the 2025 George Mason University President’s Faculty Excellence Award for Social Impact, six Provost’s Outstanding Teaching commendations for high course evaluations, and the student-selected 2019 Faculty Career Connection Award.