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I hail from central New Jersey and earned my bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rutgers University in 2001. Following graduation, I attended Cornell University’s Africana Studies & Research Center, achieving a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree in 2004. After taking several years off from school to run an innovative after-school program for inner-city middle school children in my home town, I conducted doctoral studies in communication studies at the University of Miami and graduated in 2010. I have been an active member of the Scorpion community since my arrival at Nevada State College by contributing to numerous strategic planning committees; representing the school on statewide initiatives on diversity, ethnicity, and inclusion; serving a term as faculty senate chair; and in my current roles department chair for social sciences and business.
My research interests include fine-de-siècle rap music and neo soul, critical pedagogy, media portrayals of ethnicity and race, and the relationship and interplay between power and discourse in contemporary society. I was honored to win top paper awards at both the Broadcast Educator’s Association and the National Communication Association (student) annual conventions; am a co-author of an article on the portrayal of women of color by reality television published in the International Journal on Women’s Studies; and I recently published an article on teaching content-analysis and critically vigilant media consumption in Communication Teacher.
