Education
I am currently a PhD candidate at Rice University concentrating on the fields of Southern History, African American History, and Sociology under my major professor, Dr. John B. Boles. I am currently working on my dissertation, tentatively titled "Another Way Out: The Black Town Movement, 1870-1920."
I completed my undergraduate work at Texas Woman's University, where I graduated with honors. I continued my academic career at the University of North Texas where I received a Master of Science degree, culminating with my thesis "A Place to Call Home: A Study of the Self-Segregated Community of Tatums, Oklahoma: 1894-1970."
After receiving a full fellowship award from Rice University, I completed coursework, received a Master of Arts degree, and passed comprehensive examinations in the summer of 2007. My ongoing studies have me working toward obtaining a certificate from the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexualities, which will be presented at the time I complete my dissertation, May of 2012.
Experience
Prior to embarking on my academic career, I worked in sales and marketing for Computer Options and the Los Angeles Times; after which I moved into corporate level training at Harris Publishing in Albuquerque, NM. I then served as a training manager and regional vice-president for Pre-Paid Legal Services. Combined, these employment experiences have given me a deep breadth of knowledge of the publishing industry as well as top level management of a multi-million dollar, publicly held company.
Since entering academics, I have gained experience as a teacher of children with emotional and behavioral disabilities in addition to educating other teachers in the best methods available to allow these students to reach their fullest potential. After entering graduate school, I blended previous experience with my academic studies and began working as an assitant editor and fact checker for the Journal of Southern History and have recently completed work as a research assistant for Dr. John B. Boles. I have also published several articles in mass market and specialized academic publications.