About me

I am a community-engaged scholar, mathematics education researcher, visual artist, mathematics teacher educator, mathematics professor, mother, wife, sister, daughter, aunt, yogi, mindfulness practitioner, and lover of nature.

I identify as a white female, and have three children. I am an active parent volunteer and leader in my children’s school community. The intersectionality of my racial, gendered, and motherhood identities shape my worldview, research priorities, and how I apprentice the students with whom I work.

At a broad level, my purpose as a scholar is to contribute to the advancement of knowledge and broader impacts of that knowledge with a focus on supporting some of the most vulnerable in our society, children, and adolescents. Through my research I aim to better understand and support all learners—regardless of race, gender, geographic location, sexual orientation, and socio-economic identities—to have meaningful math learning opportunities in school. A former high school mathematics teacher, I am drawn to the high school classroom as a site for research, as a place to listen to students, as a place to collaborate with teachers, and an important ecosystem for knowledge creation and change.

I find inspiration in quiet places, on my yoga mat, and from gazing toward the horizon. My children teach me to play and to be present. Viewing the world from the eyes of a child is a great gift. I value home cooked meals, family days, travel, a good tree, and spaces where earth and sky greet each other like eternal companions. I may be one of the only people you’ve met who actually love snow. My husband is my best friend and teaches me to smile more often. He never ceases to surprise me. Here is a video capturing some of the ways yoga and meditation shape my life on and off my yoga mat.

Perennial Profiles – Nicole from Perennial on Vimeo.

As a researcher of mathematics education, I write, present, teach, read, and interact with ideas and people in national and international settings. I am dedicated to the advancement of students’ meaningful learning of mathematics. Here is a video capturing some results across three ongoing research projects in an effort to link research and practice.