I am a Chicago mom of 2 CPS kids and 2 ornery pups.  I am a Speech-Language Pathologist by trade but was blessed with an opportunity to be a part of the Team who created the Citywide Assessment Teams (CATS) in ODLSS.  The CATS are responsible for evaluating all of the "non-attending" students in the city of Chicago and have been growing since 2008.  While working with diverse learners from the diagnostic standpoint is a passion of mine, I am also a sketch comedian with a group of Chicago women who make it a point to push boundaries and (hopefully) make people laugh.  I am originally from a small town and played college basketball which was a great place to learn how to be a Team player and hone my competitive nature.  I am grateful to be a participating speaker at the 2020 Summer Leadership Institute to share my experience and brag about the CATS as I believe we are one of the best things about CPS!