I am a feminist political geographer with an interest in political agency, embodiment, and relationality. Empirically, I have explored these topics through ethnographic and other qualitative research on gender, youth, food and forests. My current research focuses on critically exploring geographies and ethics of care primarily through archival research, surveys and interviews. I seek to evaluate the conflicts and contradictions of care in non-traditional caregiving sites. Ultimately, I am curious about and eager to understand the ways that power relations at various scales impact and influence local and personal livelihoods.
I received my undergraduate degree in Geography from the University of Colorado, Boulder and my graduate degrees in Geography from the University of Washington, Seattle. From 2013–2020, I was a tenured Senior Lecturer in the School of Environment at the University of Auckland (Aotearoa New Zealand) and am currently an Honorary Researcher there. At Auckland, I taught undergraduate courses in Human Geography and Global Studies, and graduate courses in Environmental Management and Gender Studies. I also served as the Deputy Director of Global Studies and co-founded the Women and Gender Geographies Research Network. At Washington, I taught courses on Global Youth and the Political Ecology of Food and Hunger, and also directed the New Zealand study abroad program through the Comparative History of Ideas program. I grew up in Bethlehem, Pa. and am currently residing on the Olympic Peninsula. I am thrilled to virtually join the Penn State Geography Department in 2021!