What I Do

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I'm the author of The Thing with Feathers (poetry collection) and Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold (children's novel). By day I work as a centrally assigned Principal of Indigenous Education for a school board in Ontario, supporting K-12 curriculum and individual Indigenous students in nearly 100 schools. I've worked as an educator for almost 25 years.

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My day job is rewarding and I know there is more work for me to do outside of the school system. For over 20 years, I've actively engaged in community in theatres, choirs, galleries, and writing circles. I am the 4th Poet Laureate of Cobourg, Ontario. I've been creating in community for over 30 years. 

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Teaching virtual creativity lessons and creativity coaching are passion projects for me (and the work I do on evenings and weekends). I am a teacher with a strong calling to teach in this way. 

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Fundamental Beliefs About Creativity 

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• Everything I teach is connected in some way to lessons in the natural world.

• Everyone I meet is creative.

• Every time someone places their creative spirit at the centre of their life, their light shines brighter.

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Read more about Creativity Coaching.

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What I Create​

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• Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold:  This is a children's novel inspired my family's Métis story. I'm a proud citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario with roots in the Georgian Bay Métis Community from the Verified Métis family lines of Solomon and Berger/Beaudoin. My mom is Métis (a Lamondin raised in Britt, Ontario) and my dad has roots in the UK (an Outram raised in Britt, Ontario). They continue to live on Georgian Bay today and I spend as much time as I can with them. Georgian Bay feels like a home to me and is the source of inspiration for a lot of my creative work.

• The Thing with Feathers: In early 2022, Piquant Press released my first poetry collection, The Thing with Feathers. This is a story of becoming whole by reassembling broken pieces of self, holding onto hope in the darkest moments, and seeing everything in a new light. I wrote this collection as part of my own healing journey, then I wanted to share it with the wish that its story may provide hope for others.

• Poetry Present: I curated a popular weekly email series featuring local poets. 2019-2022.

• Once Upon a Rocking Chair: I wrote a play in two acts that has been produced twice to sold out audiences. It shares a story inspired by a family tradition of girls' week at the cottage. Three sisters and their daughters spend a week together on Georgian Bay. What does happily-ever-after look like in your 20s and 30s versus your 50s and 60s? Writing and sharing this play resulted in building new and significant memories for my family. 

• Art Gallery of Northumberland: I was a juror for the AGN's 43rd Juried Exhibition in 2021.

• Ontario Writers' Conference: Co-founder

• Sunshine in a Jar Press: Publisher

• Recipient of the Gordon Johnston Award for Artistic Excellence, Trent University

 

Communities

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• Member of the League of Canadian Poets

• Member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada

• Spirit of the Hills Arts Association

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Education

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• Master of Arts, Adult Education and Community Development (University of Toronto)

• Bachelor of Education (Queen's University)

• Bachelor of Arts (Honours): English and Cultural Studies (Trent University)

• Expedition Coaching, Coaching Skills Facilitator

• Reiki, Level 2 Practitioner​