I'm actually a native Texan!  I was born in Houston and then moved to Chicago and Tulsa, where I lived most of my childhood.  After high school, I went back to Houston to attend Rice University, where I majored in Mathematical Sciences.  I signed on with Bell Labs after college and they sent me to get my Masters in Applied Math (Operations Research) at Stanford in California.

After graduating from Stanford, I worked as a Systems Engineer, Quality Engineer, Test Engineer, and various other technical jobs at Bell Labs, and later at BNR (Nortel Networks), Excel Communications, and Tyco Electronics. I also worked in various IT organizations where I did Interactive Voice Response development, installation, and maintenance.  I'm currently also a contract trainer for Follett Software Corporation, where I train librarians on using Library Management Software.

During most of the last 16 years, I've tutored math, mainly to high school students, and I also worked for several years as a Math Teacher at Karen Dillard's College Prep.  For the past couple of years, I've also been a substitute math teacher at PISD.  All the math and teaching experience lead me to Collin College - I just can't get enough of math and helping others love and appreciate it. 

I'm married, have 3 wonderful grown children (daughter who graduated from OU and is married and living in California, son in 2nd year Medical School at Baylor Med School in Houston, and other son in 2nd year mechanical engineering at UT-Austin).  My husband is an R&D Director at Lineage Power in Plano.