Advocacy & Other Work

Changing things from inside the system. Results vary, but I remain optimistic.

I love teaching, but a lot of the challenges students face have very little to do with what happens in the classroom.

Confusing policies, inaccessible processes, outdated assumptions, and institutional traditions can create obstacles that no amount of individual student effort will overcome. Sometimes the most useful thing we can do for students is stop making their lives unnecessarily difficult.

That's why I spend a considerable amount of time on curriculum, academic governance, disability advocacy, professional development, and other projects that attempt to improve how education works.

Some of this work involves research and collaboration. Some involves building new programs or changing existing systems. An alarming amount involves meetings.

Occasionally, something wonderful comes out of it.

Institutional Tinkering

As Curricular Vice President of the Foothill College Academic Senate, I've had the opportunity to help shape how the college develops courses, creates programs, and responds to changes in education.

Curriculum work sounds tremendously exciting, I know. But course outlines, degree requirements, and academic policies ultimately determine what students can learn, how they can learn it, and whether they can make meaningful progress toward their goals.

A few areas where I've been particularly involved:

Building new pathways. Helping faculty develop and approve new certificates, degrees, apprenticeship programs, and other educational opportunities, including the college's expansion into baccalaureate education.

Making equity part of the actual curriculum. Integrating equity considerations into Course Outlines of Record and helping faculty think beyond simply adding inclusive language to existing documents.

Rethinking Student Learning Outcomes. Leading efforts to make outcomes more meaningful, measurable, and useful for improving instruction, rather than treating assessment as an elaborate paperwork exercise.

Making the rules work for students. Working on general education revisions, course substitutions, common course numbering, and other policies that can either simplify a student's educational journey or turn it into an unnecessarily complicated scavenger hunt.

Improving how students plan their education. Serving as a faculty co-lead of Foothill's Strategic Enrollment Management Academy, exploring longer-term course scheduling and more predictable pathways through college.

Before moving into collegewide curriculum leadership, I chaired curriculum work for Foothill's Disability Resource Center and Veterans Resource Center, helping modernize course offerings and align them with current requirements.

I don't particularly enjoy bureaucracy for its own sake. I do enjoy figuring out how to make it do something useful.

Workshops, Lectures & Occasional Microphones

I enjoy sharing ideas with people who might actually be able to do something with them.

I've presented for colleges, universities, professional organizations, and community groups on topics ranging from neurodivergent student support to curriculum reform and inclusive institutional design.

Below are some selected presentations. This isn't an exhaustive inventory of every occasion somebody handed me a microphone, but it gives you an idea of the territory I cover.

Tutoring Neurodivergent Students: Practical Strategies That Make a Difference

Innovative Educators | 2026

A national webinar for tutors and academic support professionals on making tutoring more effective for neurodivergent students. We explore executive functioning, clear expectations, the hidden curriculum, and practical ways to support students without lowering academic standards or accidentally becoming their unpaid executive assistant.

Supporting the Transition to Independence for Neurodivergent Individuals

Stanford University California Down Syndrome Conference | 2025

An exploration of what meaningful independence actually looks like for neurodivergent young adults. Spoiler: it doesn't mean abandoning support and hoping everything works out. We look at belonging, agency, expectations, and the systems that make greater independence possible.

The Hidden Curriculum of College: Uncovering the Barriers That Push Students Out

Foothill-De Anza District Opening Day | 2025

A look at the unwritten rules, assumptions, and institutional peculiarities that make college unnecessarily difficult to navigate. The workshop challenges participants to recognize barriers that may be invisible to insiders but painfully obvious to everyone else.

Understanding ADHD: Supporting Students Who Confide in Counselors

Originally developed for Foothill College MESA

A practical introduction to ADHD for counselors and student support professionals, focusing on executive functioning, task initiation, time awareness, and the challenges that arise when students lose the structure they previously depended on. No amateur diagnosing required.

Supporting Neurodivergent Learners in K-12 Education

University of San Francisco, Counseling Psychology | 2024

A guest lecture exploring neurodiversity, educational access, individualized support, and strategies for creating more inclusive learning environments.

Inclusive Design for All

Foothill-De Anza District Opening Day | 2023

An exploration of how accessibility, universal design, and neurodiversity-informed practices can make educational environments better for everyone, not just the students for whom accommodations were originally developed.

I've also presented on curriculum equity, Student Learning Outcomes, artificial intelligence, emerging educational technologies, college transitions, and mentorship.

If any of this sounds useful to your organization, or if you have a challenge that doesn't fit neatly into an existing presentation, I also offer customized workshops and consultation.

Use Me. Seriously.

Things That Actually Exist

Some of my favorite projects have less to do with policies or presentations and more to do with creating something tangible. These are a few that have stuck with me.

Tools for Transition & Work Collaborative

In collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Judy Walgren, we developed a student-centered portrait project that challenged participants to define themselves beyond the label of disability.

Students directed their own portraits, selected their preferred images, and chose how they wanted to be represented.

The resulting exhibition was an opportunity for students to exercise creative control over how others see them. Something that, when you think about it, we don't always give young adults enough opportunities to do.

Self Growth / Self Change

Each year, students in Tools for Transition & Work create a collaborative publication documenting their experiences, interests, goals, and growth.

The zine includes student artwork, portraits, favorite quotes, aspirations, and personal reflections. I also write something about each student, usually highlighting a quality or accomplishment I particularly appreciate.

It's part yearbook, part creative project, and part reminder that there's considerably more to students than their diagnoses, grades, or educational records.

Neurodivergent Education Support Training (NEST)

As part of my doctoral studies, I developed NEST, an educational resource intended to help people better understand and support neurodivergent young adults.

The project brings together research, practical strategies, and an emphasis on making neurodiversity-informed education more accessible to the people actually doing the work.

Explore NEST

Other Hats I've Worn

I've also been fortunate to participate in a number of projects, fellowships, and advisory groups that have expanded my perspective beyond my own classroom and program.

A few highlights:

Strategic Enrollment Management Academy (2025–2026). Faculty co-lead of a collegewide effort to improve course scheduling, planning, and educational pathways.

Mentor Mindset Initiative (2023–2024). A research-informed fellowship exploring belonging, growth mindset, purpose, and the role of mentoring relationships in student success.

Stanford Preparing Future Professors (2022–2023). Served as a mentor to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars interested in teaching at undergraduate-focused institutions.

Magical Bridge Foundation. Contributed disability-focused curricular and student perspectives to early planning discussions around a proposed inclusive playground at Foothill College.

Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities. Advised on conversations about accessibility, educational technology, and the inclusion of neurodivergent perspectives in institutional planning.

Emerging Technologies Institute. Participated in discussions about virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies, particularly their potential benefits and accessibility challenges.

I've also served on district task forces, faculty hiring and tenure committees, scholarship selection committees, and other groups that keep a college functioning.

None of these activities is especially glamorous. But they offer opportunities to influence decisions, advocate for people who might otherwise be overlooked, and occasionally prevent a questionable idea from becoming official policy.

The Shiny Pieces of Paper

I'm not especially motivated by awards, but I've collected a few recognitions along the way that I'm rather pleased about.

2025 | Tenure, Foothill College

A particularly meaningful professional milestone, and one that reflects the support of a great many students and colleagues.

2024 | Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition

Presented by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo in recognition of service to the community.

2023 | Life Membership, Pi Lambda Theta

Recognizing academic achievement and commitment to education following my graduate work at Arizona State University.

I'm grateful for the recognition, although I still think the most meaningful accomplishments tend to be the ones that don't come with certificates.

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