Professional Development

I'm here! It's gorgeous. 4 months ago when Susan Berry at the Maine Department of Education contacted me about working with them again at the end of June at Sugarloaf Resort, how could I say no? I arrived at 2pm today, took a hike part way up a ski mountain I haven't been to since high school. No joke, this place is in the middle of Maine. It took about 4.5 hours to drive here from Boston this morning. The weather is perfect and it's nice to be here a little early. Since I'm here for the Read ▸ about Sugarloaf Maine; Schoolsite Health Promotion Conference

Who REALLY loves webinars? I don't. But, living in a virtual world and working nationally, I have to stay current. And, one inexpensive, easy way to gain more knowledge, connect with new people and stay current is to participate in webinars. SPARK asked me to do a webinar  and I was flattered. The topic was comprehensive school health programs. Sure! I knew that topic. I could do it in my sleep. The bigger challenge? Keeping people interested and engaged throughout the 45-55 minutes. So, I Read ▸ about Who REALLY Loves Webinars?

As a business owner and someone completely immersed in the school health field, I find myself straddling two incredibly different worlds. K-12 schools are a completely different beast as compared to the business community, but both are incredibly important to the work I do.  Read ▸ about Leadership Lou; Best of Leadership Summit Reflections

I am asked often, how, eleven years ago, at 27 years old, I came to oversee K-12 Health Education at the Oregon Department of Education. And now at age 38, I am a national school health consultant with current/pending Department of Education clients in Alaska, Missouri, Connecticut, Maine and organizations such as Clinton Foundation's Health Matters Initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado Legacy Foundation, Kentucky Youth Health Network and Let's Move Active Schools.I Read ▸ about Who’s on My Team?

Within 10 minutes it’s obvious to anyone who meets me that I’m incredibly passionate about the field of school health. I started my career as a middle school teacher in schools that had students living in poverty. As the pressure to raise test scores, increase attendance and time-on-task grew, I began to ask questions. I was expected to raise test scores when Charles’ home didn’t have heat on the night prior? Or Lexi just found out that she’s pregnant? Or Tom didn’t know who’s couch he was going Read ▸ about The Best Field in the World