As the Executive Director of the Center for Cowboy Ethics and Leadership, Ann brings a wealth of experience to the position having previously served as the Executive Director for the Center from 2009 – 2012. For the past three years she was a Dean of Students for the Cherry Creek School District in Greenwood Village, Colorado and is currently a Language Arts teacher in the Cherry Creek School District.

Since 2008, Ann has been teaching the curriculum she developed based on the book, Cowboy Ethics: What it takes to Win at Life by James. P. Owen, founder of the Center. The academically rigorous curriculum, which engages critical thinking, reading, and writing skills, is designed to empower students to create and practice a code of values to succeed in life after high school.

Unlike conventional character education programs, the Cowboy Ethics curriculum succeeds by inspiring rather than instructing students to take ownership of their values and life decisions. The curriculum is now being used high schools across the United States. A video showcasing Ann’s innovative approach can be viewed on www.cowboyethics.org. She also has a TEDx talk titled Cowboy Ethics in the Classroom—The Great Experiment.

In her role as Executive Director, Ann regularly speaks before groups of students, educators, and business leaders across the country through the program she developed called Be Somebody! The Best of Cowboy Ethics and The Try.

Prior to her teaching career, Ann worked for Whirlpool Corporation in Benton Harbor, Michigan and has co-owned and founded two small businesses. She received her MBA and Bachelor’s in English from the University of Denver. She and her husband, Steve, live in Centennial, Colorado, and are the parents of four grown children, including a teacher, a corporate buyer, a nurse, and an Army officer.