TPLD Mentor

I am a former public educator now working as an instructional designer. I can tell you the grass on this side is 100% as green as it looks from the other side.

I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Spring 2014 with a B.S. Secondary Education – Mathematics degree and a Mathematics certificate. I lived and taught in the suburban Milwaukee, WI, area for four years before I decided it was time for some big life changes. I moved to Chicago in early September 2018 with some money I saved but without any job prospects. I finally got a job offer as an Instructional Designer in late November 2018 and started in early December 2018. Today, I’m still living in Chicago and working in this field.

I joined the TLPD team because I believe in the mission of providing FREE resources to teachers who are looking for their next career. It was challenging for me to navigate three months of unemployment without connections to other teachers who had already successfully transitioned. My goal is to help you get a new job faster than I did.

For more information on my background and experience, please check out my LinkedIn Profile here and my personal website here.

TPLD EdTech Liaison | Job Board Manager

I’ve been in the K-12 sector for over 15 years. In 2019, I transitioned into edtech where I get to help school districts improve their data visualization and reporting processes. That experience made me realize that my passion is in leveraging technology to solve problems for others. 

My most recent position was serving as an Instructional Technology Coach for a Title I school district. I trained and helped teachers with technology integrations to drive student learning outcomes. Although I enjoyed that position, my heart was still very much set on getting back into the edtech sector because I wanted to extend my reach to more than one school district. 

When I tried to break into the edtech sector, I realized there was an extreme lack of free resources to help former educators like myself so I created my own. Edtech Jobseekers Board with a mobile app and the Employee Referral Database were designed to help jobseekers gain more visibility with recruiters and hiring managers. 

During my transition, I met a lot of generous and kind-hearted professionals who offered valuable tips and advice. I joined TPLD because I wanted to pay it forward. Changing a career is not easy so you shouldn’t have to pay for support or worrying about going through it alone. 

For more information about my background, check out my LinkedIn profile and my website. 

TPLD Content Contributor | Resource Specialist

I’m a project/people manager and content creator with 11+ years of experience delivering training, course modules, assessments, ancillaries, and tools in the learning industry. As a project manager, I’m enthusiastic about project management that is efficient, client-focused, and people-centric. As a content creator, I’m passionate about creating evidence-informed, learner-driven, and engaging experiences.

I like working with organizations that contribute meaningfully to the world. In my current role at the European Hematology Association, I implement evidence-informed strategies to create better learning experiences for health care professionals in the field of hematology. In my previous full-time role at ansrsource, I managed the quality control and programming team to deliver accessible, e-learning content in higher education.

If you’re making a positive difference in the world of learning, I’d love to help you make the world a better place!

For more information about my background, check out my LinkedIn profile and my website. 

TPLD Mentor

I taught 5th grade for about 4 years.  During that time I got a quick and cheap master's degree for that extra pay step, not even realizing that it was in Instructional Design. I honestly thought ID was just intense lesson planning at the time I went through the program.  During the COVID year, I realized how negatively teaching was impacting my overall health and began looking for other options.  I am now working at a community college as an Instructional Designer, helping faculty improve their courses online.

TPLD Mentor

As a high school teacher, I was passionate about teaching learners the “hidden curriculum”. The untold rules, tips, and resources around learning that make a big huge impact on a student’s academic and professional career. When I decided that I was ready for the next phase of my instructional career, I was both excited and overwhelmed by the professional world outside my classroom walls because I didn’t know the “curriculum” of making a career change. I didn’t know industry landscapes, job titles, or how to navigate the job search. I was very fortunate to connect with many generous folks who mentored me in different capacities and helped break down the process of making a pivot into manageable and actionable steps. Thanks to this community, I landed at a big name software company with an amazing team. TPLD helped me realize that I already had valuable experience from teaching. I just needed a little help translating that into business-speak and filling a few skill gaps. Now I’m excited now to help others in their journey and share what I have learned along the way.