About

Engineering Empathy: A Journey from Ideas to Impact Throughout my career, I’ve worked at the intersection of engineering, design, and empathy, helping students of all ages understand that innovation has the greatest meaning when it serves others. My journey began as an IB Design Technology teacher at Mapleton Public Schools, where I was selected to pilot a National Science Foundation grant integrating 3D printers into libraries. My students co-designed tactile picture books for children with visual impairments—an experience that transformed the classroom. For the first time, I witnessed 100% engagement from every student, 100% of the time. They knew their work would impact real children who otherwise couldn’t access books. This was the moment I realized that empathy is not just a teaching strategy—it’s the spark that fuels innovation. That discovery led me to the University of Colorado Boulder, where, as Director of STEM Outreach, I wrote a small grant to connect university students with Children’s Hospital Colorado. Together, they co-developed a toy to teach recycling skills using laser engraving and robotics. This evolved into a full partnership with CU Science Discovery, where staff and students designed hands-on STEM learning experiences for hospitalized children. Over three consecutive years, mechanical engineering capstone teams continued the mission—designing STEM toys for health-impacted kids that remain in use today. These projects gave engineering students a purpose beyond prototypes: to bring joy and learning to children who needed it most. To expand this impact, I founded Ecosystem Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that connected physician-entrepreneurs, artists, and engineers to design creative health-based learning experiences. Ecosystem Arts partnered with Innovation Learning, a national STEM education organization embedded in hundreds of schools. Together, we launched the Health & Back to Kids Initiative, inviting after-school students to design products that could support children in hospitals. The ideas were developed into real prototypes, and the program was later recognized as Innovation Learning’s most successful national project, proving that empathy-driven design could scale nationally and ignite creativity in students everywhere. The next evolution came through Woodshop 2.0, an empathy-based engineering and design program I created for Littleton High School. The model first took shape at a Cherry Creek middle school, where students used laser engravers to make products for BUBU, a Denver nonprofit serving children in need. Building on that success, I secured two consecutive Colorado Career & Technical Education Innovation Grants to develop Woodshop 2.0—a modern maker program where students collaborate with organizations such as the Anchor Center for Blind Children and the Colorado School for the Blind. Together, they co-design tactile literacy tools, adaptive learning toys, and accessibility products that support individuals with visual impairments. Through these partnerships, students have worked directly with industry leaders like the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) and Method Manufacturing, turning classroom ideas into professionally produced tactile learning products. Today, through HeartCraft EDU, I continue to expand this vision—helping schools, universities, and community organizations build bridges between empathy, engineering, and education. My work empowers students and educators to see that innovation is most powerful when it begins with heart, transforming learning into a force for human connection and real-world impact.