Because my name is Ms. Queen, some students ask me if I live in a castle. A few are shocked when they see me grocery shopping because they think my home is the art room at x̌alilc. One student asked, “Do you cook your food in the kiln, Mrs. Queen?” The reality of my fairy tale is that I've lived in a house a few miles away from x̌alilc Elementary for the last 23 years. My two sons also attended here, and I feel extremely fortunate to have this school in my life for so long!

My formal education includes a Bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado College, coursework in museum education at George Washington University, a teaching degree from University of Washington, and a Master’s degree in art education from Boston University. I'm also a National Board Certified teacher.

I grew up with a geologist father who also enjoyed sitting in his recliner and drawing the living room for fun. From him, I learned how to look: drawing was an extension of measuring and seeing. We hunted for tourmaline and fossils on family vacations, and one of my first jobs was helping draw basalt outcroppings on my dad's Eastern Washington geologic maps. My mother taught me stories of place. She quoted Willa Cather and Wallace Stegner, and hauled books of poetry up mountains on backpacking trips. She read the first poems I ever heard while we huddled in our tent during one storm, the rain battering background beat to the words. My parents probably didn't realize they were actually training an art teacher who would grow up to believe art and nature can help heal us as individuals.

Despite my lack of castle, I love teaching art and small groups of highly-capable children. They make me feel like a true Queen every day.