My clinical specialty is pediatric general and thoracic surgery. Everyone on the team brings something different to the table. I think working together and trusting each other results in the best outcomes. I remind my patients and their families that we are all on the same team, working to achieve the same goal. Good communication is the cornerstone of effective care. I encourage families to speak freely and tell me how they think things are going since they know their child best.

I knew I wanted to work with children and considered being a teacher or a nurse. I chose nursing because teaching is an integral part of the nursing profession and because the human body fascinates me. Once I decided on nursing, I knew I wanted to work at Cincinnati Children's!

While in college, my first job at Children's was as a patient care assistant (PCA). Then I worked as a nurse for several years. I knew that I wanted to learn more and care for my patients differently, so I went back to school to become a nurse practitioner. After caring for surgical patients as a nurse, it was a natural transition to work with the pediatric surgery team after obtaining my Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree.

My husband and I have three children who bring us so much laughter and joy but definitely keep us on our toes. We both grew up in Cincinnati and are close with our families who still live here. I enjoy spending time with friends and family, traveling to new places, reading books, gardening and being in nature.