Welcome to my website! Here is a bit about me:
I hold a Ph.D. in Cognitive Linguistics, specializing in Language Acquisition, from CU Boulder and am a member of the CU faculty in the Program for Writing and Rhetoric, Emerita. I also have two B.A.’s in Spanish and Linguistics from Cornell University. After serving as a Fulbright in Asia fellow in Japan, I received two M.A.’s in Linguistics and Japanese from Cornell University. I also directed the Washington Academy of Language Center at the University of Puget Sound Seattle Campus for seven years prior to moving to Boulder.
My academic interests include first and second language acquisition, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics and cross-cultural rhetoric. My publications and national conference presentations are in the areas of linguistics, second-language writing, and cross-cultural rhetoric. My research focuses on global literacy and second language writing. I’m interested in building community among monolingual and multilingual writers. In addition, I work in the area of service learning and civic engagement. Specifically, I conduct workshops and conferences on immigrant integration and international students, efforts to connect workers, students, and faculty on campus. My current research focuses on digital literacy especially as it relates to first and second language acquisition.
I initiated and coordinated the Program for Writing and Rhetoric’s ESL program in scientific and professional writing. In addition to teaching multilingual and professional writing courses in the PWR, I teach Honors writing and have served on over 50 honors thesis committees. Active in faculty governance, I served as Boulder Faculty Assembly Diversity Committee Chair, Chair of the Chancellor’s Committee on Race and Ethnicity, and Foundations of Excellence Diversity Committee Chair. I received the Boulder Faculty Assembly Award for Excellence in Teaching and Pedagogy in 2018.