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Presently, I am a Faculty Specialist I in the Institute for Intercultural and Anthropological Studies (IIAS) and a Faculty Fellow in the WMUx Office of Faculty Development at Western Michigan University. I received my Ph.D. from the Department of Anthropology at Indiana University in December, 2013. I have taught a broad range of courses in sociology and anthropology, which include introductory courses in sociology and cultural anthropology, research methods, climate change, and advanced courses with racial, ethnic, and multicultural studies foci. This portfolio draws upon my documented teaching and research experience from my year of serving as the Future Faculty Teaching Fellow in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Indiana University South Bend (2012-2013) to my ongoing teaching position at Western Michigan University that began in Fall 2013.

During my time at Western, I have continued to pursue my development as a researcher and instructor. I present and publish work directly and tangentially related to my primary research areas of climate change education and race and comedy, while participating in and leading teaching effectiveness workshops and conferences sponsored through the university. My research plays a significant role in how I approach my students as an instructor. In order to better motivate and engage them, I incorporate into most courses my research on audiences’ reception of racial discourses circulated in stand-up comedy as well as the intersections of climate change and humor. This serves the purpose of demonstrating to students both my passion for these subjects' larger social relevance as well as offering them a less intimidating entry point (humor) to investigating the past and present constructions of race or to anxiety-producing discussions of climate change.