I teach communication at Alverno College and conduct research on public art.

I enjoy facilitating creative exchanges between artists, students and community organizations. For example, two of my students collaborated with artist Andrea Zittel to inhabit and animate her floating island at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2010. My students worked with artist Allison Smith to present sculpture and performance in a neighborhood parade in 2008. Starting in 2009, my students also piloted a new effort to comprehensively digitally document public art using Wikipedia.

I earned the first Ph.D. in visual culture studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My dissertation theorized how experiences with public art contribute to the development of civic agency. My research continues with a focus on creatively exploring Milwaukee’s thoroughly mixed-up approach to presenting contemporary public art.

Before beginning my academic career, I worked for a decade in nonprofit communications and development.