Bio & Background

I was born the piedmont of North Carolina and raised in its mountains to folks from the state’s coastal plain. I hold a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where my dissertation “Reclaiming the University of the People: Racial Justice Movements at UNC-Chapel Hill,” won multiple awards for innovations in public and digital scholarship. While in graduate school, I was a Field Scholar at the Southern Oral History Program and taught classes at UNC-Chapel Hill on race, memory, education, and landscape.

I have received numerous academic awards including the North Carolina Impact Award for research discoveries that contribute to a better future for North Carolina’s citizens. My essays have been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize and included as a notable essay in The Best American Essays 2021. My CV is available upon request.

In addition to my academic background, I am also a forager, naturalist, and trained clinical herbalist. I teach American Studies & Environmental Writing at a boarding school in northern Virginia, and operate a small herbal practice for folks local to my slip of the Potomac River. I currently live in Glen Echo, Maryland, less than 700 feet from the banks of the Potomac. When I am not writing, reading, or teaching, I’m digging in the garden, botanizing by the river, or out on a trail run.