I am a life-long resident of Tahlequah, born in Muskogee but raised in Cherokee county and educated in the Tahlequah public schools. I was two years old when my parents, Dr. C.L. and Norma Lombardi, moved our family to Tahlequah, where my dad taught Industrial Arts at NSU for 33 years. I received both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from NSU.

Presently, I am a retired educator (and fulltime, on-call Nana), having spent 28 years in the classroom teaching English. For the last 22 years of my career, I taught Senior English and A.P. English at Tahlequah High School, served as the English department chairperson, and worked as a cross-curricular Reading Apprenticeship mentor.

My three sons, Matthew, Andrew, and John Walker, who also were educated in the Tahlequah Public School system, hold the academic distinction of being the first three siblings to graduate from the OU College of Dentistry. I have 10 grandchildren, six of whom live in the district and will be progressing through the Tahlequah school system.