Her Story
About Alyssa
I have been working in the education field for 12 years, and I currently serve as a principal focused on leadership work. I completed my doctorate in 2023, and my dissertation centered on PBIS, which reflects my main area of expertise in behavior interventions. My typical day starts before students arrive, when I answer emails and prepare documents for the day, sometimes attending collaborative meetings with teachers or other principals in the district. Once students arrive, most of my school day is spent interacting with kids. I work with a couple of students on Tier 2 behavior interventions, checking in with them at the start of the day to get them set up, and then checking out with those same students at the end of the day. Throughout the day, I make it a point to be visible in classrooms, in the locker room, and out at recess. I really try to be available and responsive to whatever kids or teachers need, rather than being stuck in my office. While I have some standing meetings, my approach is to remain flexible and present for the students and staff I serve.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Alyssa
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say my family. I think my parents have always instilled a really good work ethic in me, but as I've come into adulthood, my own kids have given me a lot of drive to work for what I want and to not give up when things get hard. I have two kids, an almost [AGE] year old and a [AGE] year old, and they really motivate me to keep pushing forward and achieving my goals.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is that when you face career setbacks or unexpected changes, it can sometimes set you on the path for something better and unexpected. I've learned that what might seem like a disappointment or obstacle in the moment can actually lead you to opportunities you wouldn't have found otherwise.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
When you go into the field of education, you get a lot of advice from a lot of different people, and it's important to listen to that advice, but also to discover yourself and your strengths. You need to find the teaching style that fits you best and your students best. Sometimes, the way that one person does it is not the thing that will work best for you or for the kids that you're working with. So my advice is to just be okay to try new things and to figure out what works best for you.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think probably a lot of people in the field right now are noticing some learning gaps, especially from COVID, but also just the after-effects of it. The biggest challenge is to meet such a wide range of needs that we see in schools now. But I think that the opportunity that comes from that is that we need to do things a little bit differently, maybe analyze some of the systems that we're using and try to approach things in a different way. There are a lot of really creative leaders out there that are trying new things to help accelerate student learning so that we can close some of those gaps.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Something that I've found has been really important in my own leadership has been the ability to listen to stakeholders that are involved in the work, and then also approaching from a collaborative mindset. People say it takes a village to raise a kid, but it's definitely like that in education. It takes a village to make sure that you are educating the students that you're working with to the best of everybody's ability and meeting everybody's needs. So I would definitely say listening, but then also collaboration are the values most important to me.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · Washington
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.