I am an Assistant PROFESSOR in Apparel, Merchandising, and Design in the Department of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management at Iowa State University.  

In my DESIGN work, I find aesthetic inspiration from the inequitable human condition for vulnerable or stigmatized populations. I use fashion as a form of activism to highlight inequalities related to individuals navigating different subject positions through appearance negotiations. My creative scholarship currently in progress is about "teaching white people about white privilege." 

My RESEARCH interests are in the interrelationships of identity, appearance, and clothing. I investigate how individuals in stigmatized or underrepresented populations navigate different identities through clothing and appearance. Much of my work is rooted in social justice with aims to promote social change related to how our bodies are regulated in different spaces by cultural norms and politics. 

I TEACH courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level.  Current course topics include: dress and diversity in society; social science theories of appearance; Black Lives Matter: fashion, libration, and the fight for freedom; and queer fashion, styles, and bodies. Past course topics have included: draping; apparel construction; senior collection development; hand and computer fashion illustration; global trade and souring; and the history of dress.  

PERSONAL: I enjoy hot yoga, hiking, reading, museum going, swimming, getting political, and designing.

IDENTITIES: I am a white, cis-gender female, who identifies as a woman and bi-sexual. I am in an interracial marriage with a wonderful and warm-hearted, cis-gender male, Brendan! I do a lot of work/writing related to race and the queer community; therefore, I feel it's important to openly share my gender, sexuality, and race so people know who is writing their history.