Ms. Tammy
Co-teacher, Dazzling Dragonflies (Older Twos)
Growing up in small town Virginia, it never crossed my mind that I would one day be happily living in Austin, TX. Nor did it ever occur to me that I would become passionate about early childhood development. But here I am, thrilled to be planted at this endearing preschool, one of my favorite places to be.
I started out eagerly pursuing a career in writing, graduating with an English degree from Hollins College. Upon graduation, I landed a job as a cub reporter for my hometown newspaper. I spent four years covering the court beat there, and after late deadlines and ambulance chasing, I would make desserts to lift my spirits. A few months later, I moved to New York City to attend culinary school. There I fell in love with pastry arts and my current husband, who happened to have graduated from UT Law School. Three years later, he moved back to Austin for a job, we got married, and I followed him.
I spent the next several years as pastry chef at Jeffrey’s Restaurant. I cooked professionally until I was nearly nine months pregnant with our first daughter, Sophie. When she was born, I put restaurant work on the back burner. My pastry arts now consist of birthday cakes and cutting out cookies with Sophie and our younger daughter, Tory.
Motherhood, to my surprise, led me to my newest passion, teaching young children. After seeing Sophie flourish during her two years at Grace Garden, and after spending time here as a volunteer, I came to know what a special place Grace Garden is. I knew when it was Tory’s turn to start preschool (she’s now a Busy Bee), I had to be a part of it. What a blessing it is to be here.