I am a first-generation scholar and educator who uses person-centered, equity-driven approaches in teaching and research to elevate lived experience and advance more just systems of education and care.

My work has been published in Adult Education Quarterly, the Journal of Crime and Justice, the Journal of Criminal Justice Education, Corrections: Policy, Practice, & Research, and the British Journal of Criminology. Click here for my Google Scholar Profile.

Current Research

Returning to work while breastfeeding: Experiences, challenges, and strategies. Explores the experiences of mothers returning to work while breastfeeding, with a focus on workplace supports, barriers, and maternal well-being. The project seeks to explore gaps between existing lactation policies and their implementation, as well as the strategies mothers use to navigate time constraints, limited accommodations, and inconsistent workplace support.

Budgeting beyond Pell: Strategic approaches to the sustainability of higher education in prison. Journal of Student Financial Aid. Examines the impact of Pell Grant eligibility on access to higher education in prison. Findings highlight the historical removal and recent reinstatement of Pell funding, the implications for educational programming and recidivism, and ongoing concerns about the fiscal and policy stability of in-prison college initiatives under shifting political conditions.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Understanding the practical constraints of teaching in the correctional environment: An exploration of course credits, degree pathways, and instructor compensation. Adult Education Quarterly. Considers how instructors navigate the practical constraints associated with teaching in the correctional environment. Findings emphasize the complexities associated with adapting to and navigating correctional policies related to the provision of credits, degrees, and compensation similar to traditional on-campus course offerings.

Access to technology for higher education in prison programs: Implications from a mixed-methods study. Corrections: Policy, Practice, and Research. Explores how instructors navigate and adapt to technology restrictions when teaching for higher education in prison programs. Findings highlight the prevalence of the digital divide and the issues surrounding digital equity for non-traditional students completing college courses, credits, and degrees while incarcerated.

Pedagogy, course design, and student engagement: Instructor preparations for teaching in the correctional environment. Journal of Criminal Justice Education. Discusses the process of preparing offering a course for currently incarcerated students while navigating the restrictions at the intersection of the university operating in the correctional space. Findings suggest there are substantial burdens on instructors and higher education in prison programs to continue to provide high-quality education while navigating such tensions.

The History and Operation of Prison Education Programs Today. In Mass Incarceration in the 21st Century (pp. 107-116). Routledge.

Public-Facing Scholarship