I am a scholar of disability innovation and entrepreneurship, specializing in how communication and design practices in advertising, marketing, and media advance accessibility and inclusion for people of all abilities. My research takes a comparative, intercultural perspective to examine how entrepreneurs, designers, and organizations in North America and Europe develop inclusive solutions that shape public understanding and drive social change. Pulling from my experience as a public cultural historian, I use qualitative methods such as oral histories, interviews, ethnographic observations, and archival research to document the contributions of innovators working at the intersection of disability, technology, and the creative industries. My work is engaged with communities and industry and aims to bridge academic research with practical impact.

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Before coming to Michigan State University, I held positions at the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute, Duke University (Cultural Anthropology and Innovation & Entrepreneurship), American University (School of International Service), and the University of California, Berkeley (Media Studies). Since 2016, I have been an editor (currently Co-Editor) of Advertising & Society Quarterly, an academic journal focused on advertising’s relationship to society, culture, history, and the economy.

 

I work closely with the Advertising Educational Foundation in New York to develop educational programs that build bridges between academia and industry. I recently co-spearheaded the creation of SeeHer's open-access certificate on gender and advertising. I have received a National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Humanities Advancement Grant and numerous awards recognizing my excellence in teaching and mentoring. In 2023 and 2024, I served on a committee of disability experts assisting Travel Michigan within the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to select close to $1 million in accessible traveler grants for communities across Michigan. 

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I am currently a co-Faculty Advisor to Tower Guard, one of Michigan State University's oldest honor societies that works with the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) to support and provide allyship for students with disabilities. I was a Tower Guard member during my undergraduate studies at MSU. I earned my PhD in Communication from the University of Michigan, MA in International and Intercultural Communication from the University of Denver, and BA in International Relations and French from Michigan State University.

When not spoiling six cats and trying to get home to the remote forests of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I enjoy "just one more coffee" or the ultimate vice known as The Golden Girls.