My role at Learning Foundations is to provide our staff, students, and families support and create a positive environment to ensure the best, most effective intervention programs.

Looking back on my own experiences growing up, I can relate to many of the families here. Although I was a good student, I always wondered why I struggled with certain things, like word retrieval, why my words sometimes “came out wrong” and why I sometimes had to read something several times to understand and retain it.

I always compared myself to my older brother, the classic over-achiever who seemed to glide effortlessly through school and read books with ease. I also saw my other brother, who always struggled in school, especially with attention issues, and how our whole family was at a loss about how to help him.

As an adult, I discovered that I fit the profile of someone with mild dyslexia. So many of my unique challenges made sense after that, and it left me with an even greater sense of determination to help all students who may be struggling.

The best part about my role as Director of Cognitive Development is being able to work one-on-one with families in order to get them the help they are looking for.   I went to school at Texas State and received my Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a focus on biology and neuropsychology. Growing up I always knew I wanted to work with children, but that working in a classroom setting wasn’t for me. In high school and college, I worked as a private swim instructor for children of all ages and skill levels.   I started working at Learning Foundations as a trainer and immediately fell in love with the job and the students we have the opportunity to work with. Not long after starting as a trainer I began working as the Assistant Cognitive Director where I aided the Director of Cognitive Development with tasks around the center and started to learn more about the administrative side of things. The more I learned about our process and how much we help the families we work with the more confident I felt that I was in the right place.  My goal is to reach as many families as possible to get their students the help they need that they might not necessarily be getting at school.

My role at Learning Foundations is to assist with billing and scheduling. I joined Learning Foundations because I wanted to be a part of a team that is dedicated to helping children.

I have a background in managing small businesses and truly prefer this over working for a large corporation.

My career journey changed when I became a mother for the first time to a beautiful baby girl in 2014. At that time my husband and I decided that I should stay home and raise our daughter. In 2017 we were blessed with another baby girl.

When I decided to return to the work force in 2021, I knew I wanted to work at a place that stayed true to their values with offering great customer service. I started to understand some of the signs that dyslexic children often encounter after training with my co-workers and speaking with the parents as they shared their experiences. My daughter was going into the 2nd grade, and I remembered her 1st grade teacher seeing signs of dyslexia. I had approached the Directors and they immediately evaluated her. They helped me understand why my very bright, intelligent little girl was struggling.

My own child and her struggles have helped me understand what the parents I talk to every day navigate through. I’m so very blessed to be working alongside the Directors here and to be a part of the Learning Foundations family.

I joined Learning Foundations in 2004 after 10 years in the public schools. When I was getting my Master’s degree in school psychology, I dreamed of helping students of all ages, one student at a time. Upon graduation I learned just what teachers, parents and students are up against. By necessity, most schools best serve the “typical” learner. For those who learn differently, school can be a holding cell, or worse, a place of daily struggle, frustration, and shame.

As a school psychologist, my primary job was to evaluate students to determine eligibility for special education, and there was a tendency for schools to postpone those evaluations until at least third grade. This “wait and see” approach caused some students to struggle for up to four years before any real assessment was done.

Indeed, I have met students who were in the Response to Intervention (RTI) for years; and while they made some progress, they were still falling further behind their peers. Often, students I did evaluate failed to qualify for services or accommodations in school because they were not eligible, not “low enough.” I was frustrated and doubted whether I was truly helping anyone.

Finding Learning Foundations was a dream come true. Now, I use assessment to plan targeted intervention tailored for each student’s needs. I evaluate cognitive skills such as memory, attention, processing speed, auditory and visual processing, and language processing. For students with difficulty reading and spelling, my dyslexia battery can determine whether they fit the dyslexic profile and what interventions and accommodations would work best. I am a proud member of a team that helps students become comfortable and independent learners, one student at a time.