Biography

I am passionate about helping people improve their lives through education. I have dedicated my education, career, and volunteer service to using technology to make learning more effective and accessible. Having lived in Russia and Kazakhstan as a volunteer and tutor, I saw firsthand the effect that education can have for individuals around the world. I received a dual bachelor?s degree in Russian and linguistics and a master?s and doctorate in educational technology from Brigham Young University. I first worked as a learning designer and language product manager for the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. I was later recruited to join Pluralsight, a unicorn EdTech startup, as the product manager for academia. At Pluralsight, I caught the vision of incorporating artificial intelligence and technology to build a system to achieve incredible learning outcomes while remaining affordable and accessible. Having caught this vision, I cofounded Emmersion with a goal to leverage AI and technology to work toward closing the global communication gap. I also serve on the interdisciplinary studies board at Brigham Young University, Idaho, and am an adjunct professor of product management at Utah Valley University. I live in Orem, Utah, have four children and speak Russian, Spanish, and a bit of Ukrainian.

Teaching