Meet Jo

Hi! I am the extrovert of the relationship. Meeting others, cultivating relationships, having fun with family and friends, and going on adventures is the way I live life. Faith, Family, and Friends are my top 3 priorities in life. I can easily get caught up in a book, I am always up for going on an adventure, the unknown rarely scares me, and life is better when there are new things on my horizon. Sarcasm and humor are a big part of my communication style, but that doesn't mean that I shy away from deeper/intellectual conversations. 

Neuroscience is a passion of mine and is something I am always trying to learn more about. My career path is a Behavior Analyst, my current title is Dean of Behavior Intervention at a local school. This means that I adhere to the principles of behavior change found in science. Behavior is a form of communication, and I strive to understand the behavior that I can see and then teach and train new skills to replace the challenging behaviors. 15 years of education has taught me that challenging behavior takes up an extraordinary amount of time for both parents and teachers. So, I went back to school to learn what I could do about that! In other words, I followed what I was most interested in! 

My daughter is my favorite human. She is an absolute delight! Adopted at birth, she has been joy to watch grow and develop into her own little self. I was diagnosed at the age of 19 with Colon cancer. The doctors told me that infertility would be what would happen after the extensive chemotherapy, radiation, and an invasive surgery. While the grief of that news took time to process, adoption was something that both Ryan and I had always been open to! It was an easy choice to move ahead in that direction. We maintain contact with her birth family, call them our family, and go visit when we are able to!  

Thanks for taking the time to learn more about us!