Hillary grew up climbing around on Mt. Hood, in the Columbia River Gorge, and in the Oregon high desert before moving on to Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming for degrees in Geoscience. Prior to becoming a teacher, Hillary was a geophysicist who used seismic waves to investigate the thickness and composition of the Earth’s crust at plate boundaries. She now teaches freshman Physics and a dual-credit Portland State University Geology course at Wilson High School in southwest Portland.

Outside of school, she enjoys swimming in mountain lakes, trail running, eating noodles, and camping with her husband and two little kids.