Qualitative Research and Ethical and Participatory/Collaborative Research 

My PhD training in cultural and medical anthropology has led me to be an expert in qualitative research design and methods including interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and discourse and conversational analysis. My Ph.D. dissertation research, supported by the Fulbright Franco-American Commission and the Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, was a fourteen month ethnographic study that examined how and why the category of autism has changed in France and how these changes impact the experience of autistic adults, particularly university students. I am deeply committed to ethical and participatory/collaborative research and ensuring that my research is geared toward responding to the needs and concerns of my research participants. 

Human-centered Design

A significant amount of my academic research has focused on human-centered design and I am currently an affiliated researcher with the social innovation design lab, Projekt at the University of Nîmes. I am passionate about how designers and anthropologists can work together to understand the cultural and political dynamics of human behavior and better understand the needs of those for whom we design. I am also interested in the liberatory potential of design projects and have collaborated with design researchers in France. 

Media and Film-making

I am trained in documentary and ethnographic theory and film making and hold a certificate in Culture & Media from NYU. My short ethnographic film, Too Beautiful to Leave is an observational documentary about what it is like for the living and the dead to reside side by side in New Jersey’s most haunted town, Cape May. 

Public Speaking/Lectures and Workshop Facilitation

I have significant experience in giving presentations and facilitating workshops in a number of areas, including anthropology/applied anthropology, accessibility and inclusion, disability studies, neurodiversity, anthropology and design.

Consulting on Disability Inclusion Issues

With research and real-world practical experience spanning both the U.S. and France, I understand the complexities and virtues of creating truly accessible spaces.

Education

I am passionate about education. In addition to my extensive career and research focused on inclusive education (including my role as a Senior Disability Specialist and Global Liaison in NYU’s Office Accessibility), I am also an experienced teacher. I have taught courses in anthropology, history, and geography at the middle school, high school, undergraduate and master’s level in both the U.S. and France, in both English and French. 

Writing

I am a born storyteller. My passion for communicating with others, especially through the medium of writing has always been the key factor to my success in my diverse and varied career.  During my PhD defense a member of the jury remarked that my dissertation had been a “page turner”-- something not typically said about PhD theses!