"As a first generation born American, school was my safe place. I learned that education was the way out of oppression, ignorance, and cycles of abuse and poverty.  Teaching and learning were my saving grace. My vow - my life’s work - was to do what I could to provide the same safe space of learning for others. This work landed me in PK-12 public school systems as a teacher and then as an administrator before becoming a faculty member and Unit Head in the Educational Leadership and Counseling department at GVSU.

What led me to apply for the role of Institutional Representative to MI-ACE was both for personal and professional reasons. My current research agenda is looking at the role of superintendent in PK12 schools, understand why the role is still primarily male, and what can we do to elevate and support female superintendents and school administrators. The number of women superintendents across the state is in the minority and this is no exception to rural Northern Michigan. While we celebrate the increased number of women superintendents in the past few years, we seem to lose them as soon as we get them into the seats. The reasons are varied, and turning this around by first understanding and then providing supports is what is driving me.  

The personal reason is raising a daughter. While I would like to think I modeled some breaking of glass ceilings as it relates to being an adult (career) woman, I realized that there are still more to shatter. The pandemic highlighted this for me as I was "bringing home the bacon and frying it up in the pan" and realized that doing "it all" was not sustainable.  

The Women's Commission prides itself on "advocating for all women on campus by acting on their issues and by promoting equity and social justice." The desire is to take the learning from my scholarly agenda into my role at GVSU and as an Institutional Representative. First, I seek to understand. Then, look for opportunities and strategies to continue to advocate in the spaces where it is needed.  

The Women's Commission is committed to elevating intersectional understanding, promoting inclusion, and celebrating diversity on GVSU's campus. This is something that our Educational Leadership program has been committed to as well. I would love to say we have "it all figured out" and that our demographics represent diversity. While there has been slight improvement, it is not where any of us wish to be. I do know that this can be achieved with intentionality. When inviting others to professional learning or like sessions, we need to be intentional about the inclusivity of others. Ensure that ALL voices are welcome to the table AND heard. Two strategies that I have used in my classroom and in leadership facilitation are the use of dialogue protocols and communication strategies through Relational Cultural theory and the Process Communication model.  

The journey from PK-12 to higher education has been an empowering one. I began my career in education wanting to “make a difference” in the life of a child - wanting to create a safe and secure environment for my classroom of children in which they could learn and grow. 25 years later, I am able to create the capacity in others to grow and lead so that more children can feel safe and exceed the limits of their potential. Grand Valley State University is an exceptional place to be able to facilitate this leading and learning in others, and I will continue this as the faculty Institutional Representative.  

I am grateful and humbled by this opportunity. I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say I was a little bit intimidated and fearful as well. I take this work seriously and wish to fulfill the expectations of the role. I look forward to collaborating with others to do just that."