Aviva grew up in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada as an only child, though she had plenty of imaginary friends. She was incredibly shy until she discovered a love of theater in the fourth grade, which allowed her to fake being outgoing until she woke up one day and realized she was no longer shy!
Aviva became a Social Studies and French teacher, after a series of random jobs including retail associate, administrative assistant, and fake fortune teller. This career choice came as no surprise to her parents, who remember her taking attendance and then reteaching her stuffed animals whatever lessons she’d learned that day in school.
Throughout her life she has maintained her love of theater, particularly improvisational theater, and has raised over $28,000 for various charities with her improv troupe based in Vancouver, BC. In 2018 Aviva and her husband decided that seven years of a long-distance relationship was enough, and she moved to the Seattle, Washington area. At that time, she started her podcast “Lesson: Impossible – An Exploration of Educational Innovation” as a way to interview extraordinary educators and to get a better sense of how the educational system works in the new country she calls home. In September she started a blog, also with the “Lesson: Impossible” theme, to share language teaching strategies and resources. You can often find her curled up with a good book, walking her dog Shelby, or listening to podcasts while she overloads the dishwasher.
Check out her podcast here!
