Growing up on a pig farm in Southwest Ohio, I have often laughed about the irony of my personal, professional, and academic interests—creating and teaching about interfaith relationships and the intersection of religion and food. Following a short-lived career as a high school social studies teacher, I went to seminary in New York City to learn how to organize faith communities and advocate for issues of justice and food access. Having spent 10+ years engaged in interfaith work and activism, I bring my own practical experience and knowledge to the classroom while emphasizing service-learning components in my classes.

Additionally, thanks to a fellowship in graduate school, I spent a good deal of time studying Islam in Indonesia. Within local faith and activist communities in Asheville and in the classroom, I often find myself helping to “translate” this often-misunderstood tradition to students and colleagues alike. Lastly, connected to my role as the Associate Director for Interfaith Initiatives at Warren Wilson, I am an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.