About Tanya
Image by Enrique A Sanabria via Flickr
I am a Wisconsin girl. I was born in Madison, and have spent most of my life living as a Badger. My father, mother and husband are all University of Wisconsin - Madison alumni. I have been a Badger Hockey fan since I was 10 years old and have followed my team to both Detroit and Milwaukee for Frozen Four wins. As a result of my love and support for the Badgers, my educational dalliance with Sparty has been a controversial one in my family.
Image by churl han via Flickr
I have been an educator for 20+ years. I started as a fifth and sixth grade teacher in a small parochial school, but after four years decided to change my focus. I went to grad school, and earned my Master of Science in Curriculum & Instruction with a focus on School Library. I spent seven years in a nearby school district and then was given the chance to interview in the district I grew up in. I have spent the past 17 years as a teacher-librarian in the elementary school I attended as a child in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. It has been an interesting experience and I am happy to report that you really can go home again.
One of my personal areas of passion is space education. I have had the privilege of attending Space Camp for Educators twice, and spending two weeks at NASA Glenn Space Center training as a NASA Educator.
I am married and have two children, a ten-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son. I spend a lot of time as the lead chauffeur for my kids. They are involved in youth orchestra, engineering, comedy improv, martial arts and swimming. I am a very proud mama.
Personally, I enjoy reading, hiking, and am starting to dabble in photography. Over the past two years, I have also become active in advocating for the mental health charities of To Write Love on Her Arms and Attitudes in Reverse. After my years of experience in the classroom, I really have a passion for childhood mental health. Both of these charities focus on suicide prevention as well as education on the topics of anxiety and depression with a goal of helping remove the stigma of a mental health disgnosis.
When we have free time, we enjoy travel and have made it our mission to visit as many national parks as we can. Last year's trip brought us to Utah's Grand Circle and the chance to visit five parks in the span of 13 days. When we are not on distant travels, we explore the state parks of Wisconsin - hiking, canoeing and photographing the beauty of our state.
