ABOUT ME

MY LENS

I'm an educator, researcher, strategist, and lifelong learner who spends a lot of time thinking about community-based educational opportunity and access.

I believe education is a public good. With knowledge comes the understanding and wisdom needed to strengthen, sustain, and help communities flourish.

My interest in this work started early. A sixth-grade college research project first got me thinking intentionally about life after high school. Growing up as the daughter of an Army service member and an educator added another layer. I moved often, attending eight public schools across four states. I saw how much schools, resources, expectations, and opportunities change depending on where you are.

Those educational experiences have shaped the way I work and how I view the work.

I'm interested in people, places, and systems. I research how educational structures and politics shape postsecondary opportunity. I work with students and educators. I think about what happens between policy and practice. And I enjoy taking ideas that feel overly academic or complicated and making them useful in real life.

OFF THE CLOCK

I'm a wife and mom of two, a hometownless Black millennial, and an avid people watcher.

I love good food, crosswords and fill-in puzzles, traveling, and taking myself on unofficial college campus tours.

I was born abroad while my family was stationed overseas, have lived in several corners of the U.S., and I'm currently at 37 out of 50 states visited and counting.

There's still a lot I want to see.

EDUCATION

• BA in Black Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha

• MA in Higher Education Administration, University of Missouri-Kansas City

• EdD Candidate, Interdisciplinary Leadership (in progress) with concentration in nonprofit/social entrepreneurship, Governors State University 

Education should open doors, not create confusion.