Courteney is a native of New Jersey and has always been interested in working with students of all ages. As an undergraduate at New York University, she studied journalism, environmental studies, and creative writing while working as a team leader for Jumpstart, an AmeriCorps program promoting language, literacy, and social-emotional skills in preschool-aged children. Since then she has written for a number of print and online publications, received an MFA in fiction from Sarah Lawrence College, taught writing at SUNY Purchase College, and worked for CityScience, a nonprofit in Brooklyn promoting STEM education. She uses her experience from these various fields with her students to encourage them to explore and find new, exciting paths to their big dreams.