I am the director of the National Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, an assistant professor of English and Comparative Literature with a specialization in children’s literature, and an affiliate faculty of the Digital Humanities Initiative at San Diego State University. My work has recently appeared in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society and Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism. My current book project, Coming of (R)age: Charting Black Girl Lit Studies renders the blueprint for a new field of study that establishes a transdisciplinary approach to understand how media (children’s and adolescent literatures, film, television, social media, music, and doll production) has shaped our cultural understanding of what it means to be young, Black, and female in the U.S. 

 

In 2021, I received my PhD in Performance Studies with a Designated Emphasis in New Media from UC Berkeley. I also hold an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and an MA in Folklore from UC Berkeley. My children’s picture book, Mr. Okra Sells Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, was released in February 2016.

 

As a scholar, writer and performer, I thrive on bridging communities together through movement and storytelling.