Bio Statement

I am a feminist political geographer, conflict resolution practitioner, and anti-trafficking advocate. I am currently a Non-Resident Research Fellow at the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance (VTIPG). I also teach in the International Peace and Conflict Resolution graduate program at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA, USA. Prior to these roles, I was the InFocus War and Peace Scholar-in-Residence and a Visiting Assistant Professor at Moravian University in Bethlehem, PA, USA. My research brings embodied, emotional, and more-than-human insight into the study of political violence, critical geopolitics, migration, and (urban) political ecology. For over a decade, I have been using ethnographic and (visual) participatory action research methods to work with conflict affected populations in the Republic of Georgia to understand the urban dimensions of forced displacement and the impacts of borderization by Russian forces on mobility and community security. My most recent project is featured in my forthcoming volume, Violent Infrastructure: Protracted Displacement and Housing Injustice in Tskaltubo, Georgia, which is based on the Violent Infrastructure traveling photovoice exhibition. As an educator, I’ve demonstrated administrative leadership in scholarly teaching excellence. This has been accomplished through the use of evidence-based practice to facilitate transformative learning experiences for my students and leading peer education training workshops related to the scholarship of teaching and learning. Finally, I am a scholar-activist, who supports advocacy, education, and aftercare initiatives for human trafficking survivors in the Lehigh Valley.

Education

Ph.D. Geography, Rutgers University, 2019

M.A. International Peace and Conflict Resolution, Arcadia University, 2012

B.A. Peace and Conflict Studies, Juniata College, 2009