​Research Interests & Experience

My research interests focus on the intersection of media literacy education, critical pedagogy, and racial neoliberal ideologies. Most recently, this has manifested in research and pedagogy of ecomedia literacy, or the ways in which media have symbolic, discursive, and material implications on the planet. I take a critical cultural approach to understanding media phenomena with attention to political economy of media and Critical Race Theory. My dissertation examined racial neoliberal ideologies in media literacy education through political economic and curricular analyses of a national news literacy education non-profit. 

Popular culture is my secondary research interest. Some examples of my work include community building at Friday Night Magic (book chapter), social aggression on Disney Channel tween programming (book chapter), and representation of class through fat boys in children's ensemble films (forthcoming article). 

I worked as a graduate researcher with PIs Dr. Ed Madison, Dr. Jenefer Husman, Dr. Matthew Kim, and Dr. Ross Anderson on "My STEM Story," a $1.2M National Science Foundation grant-funded study that examines the impact of digital storytelling on student motivation using Osyerman's theory of identity-based motivation. Due to COVID-19, we expanded our research with a RAPID grant to study the connections high school students see between science and service. 

​I also worked as a graduate associate and educational consultant for the Journalistic Learning Initiative with Dr. Madison. Our collaborations resulted in many presentations and publications, including a co-authored book, Language Arts in Action:  Engaging Secondary Students with Journalistic Strategies (Norton Professional Books, 2023). 

Teaching Interests & Experience

As faculty member at Denison University, I work with undergraduate students, including international and historically underrepresented populations. My teaching interests include introductory communication and media studies courses, media and society, introduction to media studies, communication and media theory, media/information literacy (which I think should be a required course for all university students), critical and cultural studies, representation, and popular culture. I have experience teaching media/information literacy, introductory professional writing, rhetoric, and communication law. 

Prior to becoming an assistant professor a Dension University, my teaching experience included instructor of record in Journalism at the University of Oregon,  visiting instructor in Rhetoric at the University of Iowa, and online graduate instructor in Education for Johns Hopkins University School of Education. I also taught fourth grade in Prince Georges County Public Schools and fifth and sixth grades in Baltimore City Public Schools through Teach for America. (I am happy to discuss how TFA and my experiences in it shaped my views on white supremacy and anti-racism.) I continue to be strongly invested and vocal in pro-public education reform and labor rights.

​Awards

I received the 2022 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. 

For the 2020-21 academic year, I was awarded a Dissertation Research Fellowship, a competitive fellowship from the University of Oregon Graduate School. I was also awarded the Lokey Scholarship, a competitive $10,000 research scholarship from the SOJC. 

I received the Columbia Scholarship from the SOJC from 2016-2020. 

In 2015, I was nominated by my students and named a Champion for Student Success at the University of Iowa. 

I am a member of Kappa Tau Alpha Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society. 

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