What is your job title?
Director of Learning and Development 

How long have you been with Penn-Mar? 
I will be at Penn-Mar 5 years in August. 

How did you get connected with Penn-Mar? 
Before joining Penn-Mar, I met a team member who was in my current role at the time through peer networking and advocacy events. When she decided to leave Penn-Mar, she reached out to see if I’d be interested in bringing my experience and skills to the organization. 

What was your previous work experience prior to Penn-Mar and how did it prepare you for your current role? 
Before joining Penn-Mar, I spent 12 years in operations and in various leadership roles at a local nonprofit organization in Baltimore City who, like Penn-Mar, supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). I gained experience as a DSP, case manager, job developer, day program manager, and training manager. As part of their leadership team, I developed person-centered planning skills, trained team members to provide quality support, addressed state plans of correction, and was responsible for the annual licensing reports. Those years gave me valuable experiences and stories that continue to shape how I train and support others at Penn-Mar today. During that time, I also completed my master’s degree in Social Work and my Licensed Graduate Social Worker (LGSW) credential. I continue to draw on this experience in my role as Director of Learning and Development, where supporting and mentoring others to grow and learn remains one of my greatest passions. 

What does your work entail?  
In 2024, CEO Greg Miller asked the directors’ team to describe their roles in one sentence as part of The Culture Solution book club. While my role has many moving parts, the statement I wrote still fits my current role: My role at Penn-Mar is to engage, unite, and inspire a mindset of continuous professional growth and development, while emphasizing the importance of trustworthy human relationships. 

At Penn-Mar, I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to the Person-Centered Support Initiative and the Belonging Initiative. I also have led efforts to develop training curriculums for team members revolving around leadership development, streamlining the new-hire onboarding experience, and on the intricacies of meaningful relationships that are affected by past traumatic experiences for both people we support and team members. Alongside a passionate team of trainers, we continue to develop, deliver, evaluate, and implement Penn-Mar’s internally created training curriculums. 

More recently, I transitioned from the HR Department to Operations. Despite this department shift, I continue to focus on leadership development training for everyone within the organization that begins with leading self, others and then at the systems organizational level. As a credentialed DISC educator, I often use this tool to help people within teams develop a common language around communication styles that are critical to lead, coach, supervise or navigate relationships. It’s our role to support everyone in our organization to have a voice, be empowered to contribute, and enhance teamwork. In turn, this improves the quality of services we offer to meet the various interests, needs and desires of the people who choose Penn-Mar. My ultimate goal in offering professional development is to help us all to be the best we can be, to celebrate and respect each other’s strengths and differences, and to develop as strong teams for the people we serve while also having some fun learning together. And of course, I frequently step in to support other trainings as needed.  

My passion for education and training also extends beyond the classroom. I partner across the organization to support workgroups focused on continuous improvement, helping to ensure team members have the tools they need to support Penn-Mar’s mission, vision, and goals. For example, I serve as one of the leads in the Performance Management workgroup and support the Tech Training workgroup as well.  

What’s an average day like for you? 
No two days look the same for me. On any given day, I might be leading training, developing new content, or participating in an adjunct trainer huddle, workgroup, connection meeting, or advocacy training meeting. I’m constantly on the move because development and training touches so many parts of our organization and is vital to our success and sustainability. I strive to do my best to support team members learn, grow, stay compliant, and feel heard, valued, and connected at Penn-Mar. 

What’s one thing you wish people realized about your job? 
Streamlining training across a multi-state organization with complex regulatory requirements, while maintaining strong customer service and ensuring the accuracy of the Learning Management System UKG Learning is a multifaceted job. The Learning & Development team and adjunct trainers invest tremendous effort each year to develop and update annual trainings so we can share current best practices in our field. When team members come ready to learn, share their experiences, and grow together, powerful learning happens. My goal is to help make our training at Penn-Mar an engaging learning experience where people can feel safe, pause, learn together, and build connections that extend beyond the classroom. 

In another life, your career path is . . . 
to be an architect. In a past life, I loved to build models and draw out plans. Now this love has transformed into building Legos sets and cars with my 2 boys. Some may think that this is far from my love as a social worker, yet I see it merely as a transition from designing buildings to developing people instead. I suspect this is why I am excited to build and develop new training programs that will support others in their personal learning and development journeys.  

Why is Penn-Mar’s mission important to you? 
Penn-Mar’s mission of helping people live courageously in pursuit of their best life deeply resonates with me. I believe that when people feel they belong and know their voices matter, they are better able to thrive. What first drew me to Penn-Mar continues to inspire me today: I’ve learned just as much from the people I’ve supported as they may have learned from me. That’s why I’m passionate to stay in this profession and equip team members with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to grow, because together, there’s no limit to what we can achieve. 

What’s one thing you wished the general public knew about people with IDD? 
If you open your business, community, or home to someone with a differing ability, you are opening your heart to being filled with a true empathetic and caring passion for life that is contagious.  

What is your favorite quote or mantra?  
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Unknown   

Any hidden talents or fun facts someone wouldn’t know about you? 
Soccer was my life prior to college and allowed me to have the opportunity to travel domestically and internationally. It’s what ignited my love to travel and learn in other cultural settings.  

If you could travel anywhere in the world, you’d visit . . . 
New Zealand remains on my bucket list. I hope to ignite in my children the same love for travel and hope that they will take me on their adventures. 

In your spare time, you’ll be found . . . 
with my family supporting my boys’ sport events, building Legos, or traveling to see my extended family. 

A book, movie, TV show, sports team, etc. you love: 
Although it’s not aways easy to see all the games in full, growing up in Boulder, Colorado, I remain a Broncos fan. 

Something fun, interesting, or meaningful about yourself: 
Throughout my life feeling like I was heard and respected for my contribution isn’t something I have always truthfully experienced. I want to be that for others.