Following in bell hooks’ footsteps, I see teaching as a practice of collectively imagining and moving beyond stagnant ways of learning and knowing “to see intelligence as a resource” for our common good. I strive for my students to become critical thinkers and creators who see, understand, and feel how their actions matter in the world. One of my goals as an educator is to create a supportive environment for this deep learning and exchange to be possible. My teaching philosophy utilizes engaged pedagogy, collaborative learning, and interdisciplinary approaches to critical practice and research to stimulate inquiry and foster critical consciousness in a mutually supportive setting.

My teaching experiences in public schools, museums, and universities have taught me that formal and informal learning settings (i.e., classrooms, museums, gardens, historic sites, media & popular culture, etc.) allow us to see how we participate in our own learning as well as in learning-with-others. Through this process, we can sharpen our awareness of how we are implicated in each others' lives and practice co-listening and co-existing towards a more socially just future. 

TEACHING AREAS

-Art & Politics; Visual Culture
-Critical & Cultural Theory
-Research for Studio Practice
-Museum Studies, Education, and Public Engagement
-Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Studies
-Writing and Research Development

COURSES TAUGHT

-American Cultures and the Arts (Writing Intensive)
-Art and Social Change (Writing Intensive)
-Foundation Drawing, Intermediate Drawing, Research-Based Drawing (Studio)
-Museum Interpretations: Power, Culture, and Meaning-Making (Writing Intensive)
-Senior Painting Seminar (Studio)
-Theory and Criticism of Art: Critical Studies for Studio Practice
-MFA Thesis Writing (Writing Intensive)
-Three-Dimensional Design (Studio)
-Two-Dimensional Design (Studio)
-Unmaking Art, Unmaking Self: Women of Color Creative Practices
-Writing for Artists (Writing Intensive)

UNIVERSITY TEACHING

-Assistant Professor, Hartford Art School (2018-Present)
-Faculty, Nomad 9 Interdisciplinary MFA Program, Hartford Art School (2019-Present)
-Lecturer, Department of American Studies and the Department of Art & Art History, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (2014-2018)
-Lecturer, Department of Art & Design, University of New Haven (2009-2010)

TEACHING IN MUSEUMS & WIDER COMMUNITIES

-Associate Curator of Education, Shangri La: A Museum of Islamic Art, Culture, and Design (2017-2018)
-Teaching Artist, Dwight Hall at Yale: Center for Public Service and Social Justice (2009-2010)
-Wurtele Gallery Teacher, Yale University Art Gallery (2007-2009)
-Artist in Residence, Empire State Partnerships, New York State Council on the Arts (2007)
-Teaching Artist, Young Audiences New York (2006-2007)
-Museum Educator, Queens Museum of Art (2005-2007)
-English Teaching Assistant, Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Fellowship, Hanbada Middle School, Busan, South Korea (2004-2005)