I graduated with a BS degree in Geology from UC Davis. I received my California Teaching Credential for high school Physical Science with an additional endorsement for Mathematics from California State University Sacramento. I also hold a current teaching license for Physics and Chemistry for the state of Oregon. I have taught thousands of high school students over my career. These include students from many different backgrounds with different skills and challenges. In all cases I strive to find which learning styles work best for each unique student. My favorite high school classes to teach are Geology, Astronomy and Physics. I have taught AP Physics since 2005 including AP Physics B, 1 and 2. Despite the fact that my students come from a Title 1 school and many of them are first generation college students, they consistently beat state and national averages with their AP Physics scores.
I have attended five AP Summer Institute programs in Physics and I am an official AP Reader, which means I am one of the teachers who grades the AP Physics exams.
Outside of school I train for and participate in triathlons and I enjoy backpacking and travelling and camping with my family. I have also participated in science activities outside of school including working at the US Geological Survey during my college years and collaborating with members of the Lawrence Berkeley Labs Astrophysics Division with their research that led to the discovery of the accelerated expansion of the universe and Dark Energy. One of my current projects that I am involved with is the Carlton Observatory Project which is creating a community space education center with a planetarium and observatory in my hometown of Carlton, Oregon. My tutoring experience includes all levels of science students from grade school through grad school. My goals for all of my students include helping them be successful, nurturing their natural curiosity about the world, and giving them an understanding in a deep and lasting way of the amazing scientific principles that are part of their curriculum and part of our universe.