Academic Dean for Courses and Curriculum
Primary Dean for First-Generation and Low-Income (FGLI) Students
Coordinator of the annual Undergraduate Bulletin and program review for Arts and Science Departments
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About me
I grew up in Moore, Oklahoma, and attended Swarthmore as the first person in my family to go to college. I earned a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Duke after conducting extended field research in Havana, Cuba, on the lived experience of “permanent crisis” in the early- to mid-2000s. I taught Latin American studies, Gender & Sexuality studies, and Anthropology courses at Miami of Ohio before returning to Duke as a visiting professor in 2008. In 2011, I co-founded the Director of Academic Engagement (DAE) program at Duke, first specializing in Global & Civic Engagement and then in Social Sciences. As a DAE, I worked one-on-one with students to integrate curricular and co-curricular experiences, from study abroad to undergraduate research, into their course of study, and I led the Academic Advising Center’s efforts to strengthen advising for first-generation/low-income (FGLI) students.
Outside of Duke, I enjoy long-distance running, gardening, and volunteering at a no-kill animal shelter. All teach me important lessons about growth, persistence, and the capacity to thrive that I apply every day in my work with students.