I was born in St. Petersburg, FL back in 1974. While I was born in St. Anthony’s Hospital, I was quickly transferred to for care in very same NICU I work in today, All Children’s Hospital. Before I was school age, we moved to Orlando. My childhood was pretty cool. My mom worked a Disney, which meant I had a connection most kids only dream of. It wasn’t always fun and games. I went to Bishop Moore Catholic School and graduated near the top of my class, before going on to earn my undergraduate degrees in Biology and Psychology from the University of Miami. After ‘undergrad’, I went on to receive my medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD and graduated in 2000. I moved to Pittsburgh, PA, where I attended a Pediatric Residency Program at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Magee Women’s Hospital. During my fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, I obtained a Master’s of Science in Medical Education from the University of Pittsburgh.

Today, I am Board Certified in Neonatal Medicine and currently work as the Medical Director of the Simulation Center at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. Neonatology involves caring for critically ill babies and their families. As an educator and researcher, my passion is simulation education, patient safety, and research endeavors, which I have been working in more than 16 years. I was a NIH postdoctoral scholar at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Safar Center for Resuscitative Medicine from July 2006-July 2007. I've received funding for my simulation educational research through the Laerdal Foundation for Acute Medicine, Cullen Trust for Healthcare, Texas Children’s Hospital Educational Grants, Walmart-Sams Club, and MD Anderson Foundation among others.

Currently, my areas of interest within simulation include use of simulation for evaluating new clinical spaces, team training, improving quality and patient safety, improving home care and skills for primary caregivers of children with medical complexities, and developing educational curricula for various departments throughout the hospital.

I have spoken nationally and internationally on topics in healthcare simulation. I've also done motivational/inspirational speeches on overcoming obstacles for venues such as the Texas Conference for Women, Shiners Hospital, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Memorial Sloan Kettering, March of Dimes, Rosie's Place and many more. I received awards including the Ray E. Helfer Award for Innovation in Pediatric Education from the APA in 2008, numerous Compassionate Doctor Recognition and Patients' Choice Awards.  I'm an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, and the International Pediatric Simulation Society. I hold positions on the executive boards for the Center for Medical Simulation in Boston, the INSPIRE (International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research, & Education), and OpHeart (nonprofit dedicated to improving pediatric care of children with complex congenital heart disease). I am a national ambassador for Speak Now for Kids through the Children’s Hospital Association (online child advocacy network to raise awareness for unique challenges of children and families in our healthcare system).

I am not a stranger to medicine as a patient either. You may have noticed my stature. I have a rare type of dwarfism called Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia, Type Strudwick. This type of dwarfism often, as it did with me, requires many orthopedic surgeries. I am also a 7 year cancer survivor, after being diagnosed and treated for a choriocarcinoma in 2014.

Along with my husband Bill (and our children Will and Zoey), we have been featured on TLC's docu-drama, The Little Couple which follows our personal and professional lives and is now in its 14th season!  I've appeared on a number of national and local news and lifestyle shows including Oprah, The Today Show, GMA, Dr. OZ, The Doctors, Wendy Williams, Anderson Cooper, Katie Couric, Arsenio Hall, CNN and others.