After graduating from college in 1995, Neena has taught self contained general education and gifted education classrooms in grades 2-5. In addition to 10 years as a classroom teacher in Chicago Public Schools, Neena served as the Lead Literacy Teacher for grades pre-k through 8 for two years at Helen C. Peirce Elementary School.

Neena received her B.A. in Elementary Education and M.A. in Early Childhood Education, both at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In addition she holds an ESL endorsement and National Board Certification. Neena is currently working on a Master's in Educational Leadership with an emphasis on Urban Education.

Since joining the SLI team in the spring of 2006, Neena has been working primarily with schools involved in the Focused Instruction Process network.