As a child I spent most of my time outdoors with my father, and as a teen I worked at a bowling alley/pizza joint. I completed my undergraduate work at Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH in 2012. After college, I worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA member at Springfield Promise Neighborhood, a community organizing collaborative that seeks to transform early education through parent engagement and resident-led community revitalization. My background in community organizing and political activism informs my practice and research. Outside of my academic work, I spend my time with friends cooking, teaching and doing yoga, and organizing people of marginalized genders to fight for social and political change locally.