Jennifer has dedicated her life’s work to public education. She found her niche with young adolescents–teaching middle school English Language Arts and Reading for 20 years in Massachusetts and Illinois. Prior to that she started her career in education reform, working at New American Schools and is passionate about school transformation. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and has her Masters in Teaching and Learning from Harvard University.

What Jen loves most about teaching are the relationships she builds with her students, helping them become their best selves and find their individual voices. In recent years she has tapped into resources from Facing History And Ourselves and Learning for Justice to bring social justice to her classroom and a more culturally-responsive approach to teaching and learning. And as an avid reader, Jen works hard to encourage her students to develop an enduring habit of reading. 

Throughout her 20 years as an educator, Jen has developed a strong commitment to public schools and gained increasingly deeper knowledge and experience with excellent teaching practices and how schools work. Beyond the classroom, she’s held a wide-range of leadership positions within her district. She has been a teacher team leader. She has served on district-wide committees around hiring, curriculum, technology, standards-based grading and more. She has mentored and coached student teachers and new staff. She co-founded her school’s chapter of the Best Buddies program, sponsored a writing club, established a writing contest, and began a Spoken Word club. Most recently, she developed a “Reading Buddies” program that connects middle schoolers with young kids.

Also, Jen has carried her keen interest in equity and inclusion into her volunteer and community engagement work in Oak Park, Illinois. In recent years, Jen has participated in multiple groups established to support community priorities: the Oak Park Village Board's Disability Access Committee, Lincoln Elementary's Diversity Committee, and D97 School Board's Committee on Community Engagement. Jen currently works for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as an instructional coach, supporting K-12 educators.