educational background
Ph.D., Sociology, Stony Brook University, 2014
Advanced Graduate Certificate in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, Stony Brook University, 2012
M.A. Sociology, Stony Brook University, 2011
B.A., Communication Studies (focus on interpersonal), Sociology and English (rhetoric Minor), Albion College, 2008
professional positions
virginia commonwealth university
August 2022- Present
Associate Professor (tenured), Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies; School of Social Work M.S.W. Field Placement Site Supervisor; Institute for Women’s Health (affiliate faculty); Auctus (The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship) Humanities Advisor.
Currently advising students as a core graduate thesis/dissertation committee member, from:
School of Education
School of Nursing
School of Social Work
Social and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Medicine
Psychology
Human and Molecular Genetics
Additionally advising/supervising undergraduate students for:
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Federal Work Study Research Assistantships
UCLA Public Affairs Capstone Internship Field Placements
Volunteer research positions
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robert wood johnson foundation
December 2021 - Present
PI and Co-Lead of The Sexploration Project, a Pioneering Ideas grant to develop and pilot a community-led measure of sexual flourishing.
Additional work our collaborative of 17 people and growing have accomplished since we began, includes:
Co-Editing a Special Issue of Spark (the online magazine of the National Center for Institutional Diversity).
Leading a four-part virtual webinar series on sexuality, sensuality, eroticism, and health.
You can view the recording of our first roundtable on NCID’s website.
The rest of our roundtable recordings are featured on our podcast feed.
Presenting, being featured at, or attending conferences locally, nationally, and internationally (such as the 2023 HIV Summit, National Latinx Conference, Association for Black Sexologists and Clinicians, American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists… and more!
Presenting at the upcoming conferences of the American Sociological Association, Society for the Study of Social Problems, National Women’s Studies Association, and American Public Health Association.
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Virginia commonwealth university
January 2015 - August 2022
Assistant Professor, Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies
Former Faculty Senator (2016-2019)
Advised students as a core graduate thesis/dissertation committee member, from:
Sociology
Psychology
Social and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Medicine
Additionally advised/supervised undergraduate students for:
Guided Research Experiences and Applied Learning (GREAT) NIH R25 (Program Faculty)
Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity in the Biomedical Sciences
Honor’s College thesis
REAL (Relevant, Experiential, Applied Learning) Research Fellowships
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Summer Research Fellowships (including a Community-Engaged Fellowship in partnership with Side by Side)
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Albion college
August 2014 - December 2015
Visiting Assistant Professor
Taught courses in Quantitative Methodologies, Globalization and Multiculturalism, and Health and Illness.
Served as:
Faculty Judge, Albion College Distinguished Scholars Program
Faculty advisor for LGBriTs, the LGBTQ+ and ally organization
Faculty member/representative of Phi Beta Kappa
Interests
health justice (mental health and Psychosocial well-being);
critical sexuality studies (including the sociolegal construction and regulation of sexual selves, sexual cultures, and sexual citizenship); and
QuantCrit, feminist and queer research methodologies, and the science of science (including meta-research).
AFFILIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
Board of Directors, Virginia League for Planned Parenthood
Community Advisor for Reconceptualizing Gender and Health (RGH) Project at SP2’s Sex-Gen Lab (Anne Esacove, PI and Co-Director).
Consultant for Dr. Ari Tabaac’s Boston Children’s Hospital, Aerosmith
Award. Project: “Development and validation of the perceived medical
cissexism in sexual and reproductive healthcare scale.”
Partners for Health Equity (P4HE) Collaborative (Tulane Institute for Innovations in Health Equity)
Scholars Strategy Network
VCU Q Collective (Steering Committee Member and former co-Director of Camp Qmunity Summer LGBTQ Studies Intensive)
VCU Disability Studies Certificate Advisory Committee
VCU Faculty and Staff COVID-19 Advisory Committee
American Sociological Association, Sexualities Section (2019-2022 elected council member)
Board of Directors, Albion College Alumni Association
United Campus Workers, member-at-large
Regular member with: American Sociological Association, Southern Sociological Society, Sociologists for Women in Society, National Women’s Studies Association, Society for the Study of Social Problems, Society for Disability Studies, American Studies Association, American Public Health Association.