I am a Professor in the Human Development and Family Studies Department at Central Michigan University. I received an EdD in Education from the University of Southern California, MA in Speech Communication Studies from Emerson College, and BA in Communications from the University of California, San Diego.

I worked as a Consultant with Stamford Public Education Foundation from 2011 to 2019. In 2011, I developed a Service-Learning, Mentoring Program for the organization that is offered in elementary schools in Stamford, Connecticut. Annually, the program services 700 elementary students and provides service-learning experiences for 100 University of Connecticut students.

I have presented at international conferences and given speeches on: experiential teaching, distance-learning, and economic inequality. In 2012, I earned the Faculty of the Year Award from the University of Connecticut for my experiential teaching practices. My first book, Looking Through the Mirror: Families and Children Living in Poverty, will be published in February 2020.