Hello! I'm Desneige Hallbert Sodano. I know, it's an interesting first name. Named after my French-Canadian great grandma, it means "of snow". The "s" is silent and the "g" is soft. Phonetically it goes something like this: Duh-nAge (rhymes with beige). 

This is my second year teaching at Futures Lab, in fact, its also only my second year of teaching! And it's been great so far! I was at a crossroads ten years ago when I was deciding to go to grad school. Do I become an elementary school teacher OR a landscape architect?  I chose landscape architecture and urban planning and have loved the profession. I got to design communities, parks & plazas. Worked with architects, engineerings, contractors, all the professions that go into making our towns and cities great and where we live awesome. But, I missed teaching. 

I'd been volunteering with an after school program called ACE Mentoring where we get professionals to volunteer two hours a week to teach high school students about the design process on real world built projects. I loved the program and helped launch the ACE Mentoring chapter in Fort Collins in conjunction with Poudre School District. It was an easy jump from working in the industry to becoming a teacher developing the new Design/Build Pathway. I now get to combine both my passions: the ACE industries and teaching. 

When I'm not teaching, I'm advocating for pollinators (birds, bees, butterflies) and their habitat and run a small ecological landscape design business. I love hiking/camping with my husband, dog, Denali, and am now a first time mom! He's 7 months already! Hobbies include: arts and crafts of all sorts, dance, yoga, and swim! I also love baking pies and hosting nacho cookoffs!