Originally from Oregon, I began learning Spanish after years of studying French because I wanted to participate in my home state’s multilingual community.  I fell in love with contemporary Latin American literature during a Fulbright year at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, México.  I realized that I wanted to teach Spanish and Hispanic literature to guide students in the transformative process of learning about other cultures through proficiency in another language.  My teaching and research interests include incorporating cultural texts in language instruction and 20^th-21^st century Caribbean literature.  Before coming to Amherst, I was an Assistant Professor of Spanish at Morehouse College in Atlanta.  In addition to teaching, I love participating in Spanish language book groups, following Spanish and Latin American Netflix shows, and spending time outdoors with my family and running partner/dog Henry.      

Degrees

Ph.D., Comparative Literature, Yale University

M.Phil., Spanish, Yale University

M.A., Teaching Spanish and Language Arts, Pacific University

B.A., French and English, Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon