Where to start? I am a producer and designer, logophile and frustrated artist, mastermind and occasional sufferer of impostor syndrome, college professor and eternal student. I’m passionate about the intersection of learning, technology and creativity–and have pursued these interests, however inelegantly, across a wide sphere of the arts, entertainment and education.

I began my career in independent filmmaking and soon started working in visual effects and post-production supervision–once I realized I needed to extend my projected lifespan by earning enough to afford better food than peanut butter and pasta. I have produced several award-winning independent feature and short subject films as well as commercial and promotional pieces. Over the last decade, I transitioned into new media channels and worked primarily as a creative director, focusing on visual communication, brand development and marketing. I’ve gamified the summer camp experience, made costumed dogs talk, flannelgraphs sing, and worked with insanely talented people. More recently, much of my freelance creative work involves designing and coding websites (another random skill acquired along the way) and doing branding and instructional design projects.

If all that wasn’t enough, I began teaching at the university level and transitioned into a full-time assistant professor role in 2012. In 2019, I became the chair of the department of Communication and in 2021 earned a promotion to the rank of Associate Professor. I’ve taught and developed over 15 unique classes, helmed curricular rewrites and program restructure, and led technology and learning space initiatives across the university. I’ve become obsessed with how we utilize space and the impact the design of space (physical and virtual) has on pedagogy, learning, mental well-being and creativity. I’ve designed and built (any excuse to to add to the power tool collection!) several teaching and learning spaces on campus, doubled-down on the concept of hyflex learning and online interactive courses, designed and coded a virtual space for faculty shared governance, an internship tracking site and an equipment inventory and checkout system, and launched the MediaHub, a student training center for digital skill development aimed at creating digital equity for first-generation students.

If that seems like a lot, it is! But I’ve found that the most exciting work always occurs at the intersections, and if you only take the straight road, you have far fewer opportunities for transformative discovery–the messy, spectacular collisions that spark epiphany and innovation.

I’d love to hear from you, especially if you have a paying job for me or a great internship for my students. I’m also an unabashed nerd, which means I deeply enjoy simply conversing about any or all of my academic research interests: storytelling as problem-solving, cultivating student creativity, digital equity, and “culture care.” I love hearing new points of view, collaborating with diverse individuals and organizations, and putting projects together.