Cead Mile Failte! That’s Gaelic for “100,000 Welcomes!”

After completing my BA and BEd at Queen’s University, I started my teaching career in 1987 as an educational assistant in Red Lake, Ontario.  Within a few months, I became a K-12 art, language arts, and social studies teacher in Lynn Lake, Manitoba.  I moved south(!) to North Bay in 1989 where I taught art and English at West Ferris Secondary School for 14 years.  For nine of those years, I was head of art, music, and drama.  In 1997, I became a part-time instructor for Nipissing University, moved there full-time in 2003, and completed my MEd at Nipissing in 2005.  I finished my doctoral dissertation through the University of Glasgow during the summer of 2010.  My research interests are in two main areas: issues that impact elementary art education and the use of graphic design strategies to improve learning.  In my spare time, I am a piper and photographer. Playing bagpipes, taking photographs, and spending quality time with my husband, Paul, and our golden retriever, Shankly, help me find balance for my academic life.

Slainte! That’s Gaelic for “Cheers!”