Welcome to my website! On this site, you can find information about my research and teaching as well as my downloadable CV.

I started my college education at Hollins University, where I quickly learned that I could professionally study two things I love to discuss: fairy tales and Disney. After earning my BA in English and History, with an English thesis about fairy tale novelizations, I completed my MA at Kansas State University, where I broadened my research beyond fairy tales to any kind of adaptation of children’s literature and completed a Master’s project on Into the Woods (so, I didn’t drift too far from fairy tales). I rounded out my education with a PhD in English from the University of Connecticut, where I completed a dissertation on American adaptations of children’s literature which focus on the figure of the kidult. After graduating, I spent a year as a Lecturer at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, focusing on English Education and teacher preparation. I now teach and research as an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University-Commerce, where I work in the Literature and Languages department teaching children’s literature, film, and English Education courses.

I study what I love, and I love many things. Most of my subjects can be traced back to some combination of three broad topics:

• Children’s media
• Adaptation
• Disney

I bring these three areas together through one particular research focus: how adaptations, both professional and fan-made, change character identities due to cultural, media, and audience differences. I have focused on identities such as childhood, gender, race, and disability, but most of my current research focuses on the construction of adulthood.

The rest of this website demonstrates my work, both in and out of the classroom. When I take a break to be human, I enjoy hanging out with family and friends, binging the most recent popular series, reading web comics, playing video games and tabletop games, and doing community service.