Deeper Learning 2025

My passion is empowering teenagers. I've been a librarian for the past three decades plus, and a teacher before that. Last fall Missoula Public Library (MPL) and our partner organization Families First (FF), launched Dream Bigger Afterschool (DBA), a teen program aimed at guiding teens to achieve their dreams through a project of their choosing. MPL re-imagined what libraries could be when we built our new building a few years back. We now operate under an "All Under One Roof" concept with our community partners--Famiies First, SpectrUM Science Museum, the Living Lab, and MCAT community TV. Having everyone in one place has given us an incredibly rich environment for creating, imagining, and collaborating between organizations. DBA has been a powerful experiment between organizations for the benefit of our teens. We are looking to build on our inital success for even bigger dreams in the future! I am excited to learn from like-minded folks in our endeavor to continuing to empower and support teens. My own kids are grown and (mostly) gone. I live with my husband, two spoiled dogs, two pampered cats, and forest of houseplants. My love language is feeding people. I enjoy gardening, cooking, baking, and preserving food. I am also a passionate devotee of the Oxford comma.