I am the author of three books– the most recent is Inside the Body of Black Feminism— as well as the co-editor of two collections of essays & 9 special issues of journals. After attending Rutgers (undergraduate) and UCLA (graduate), I began my career at Georgetown University, where I helped to build curriculum, programming, and connections around feminist, African American, and African Studies, and in 2016 helped to establish the Black Studies department. In 2019, I joined the faculty in the English Department of The University of Texas at Austin, where I also teach and mentor in Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies and African & African Diaspora Studies. From 2022-2025, I served as Director of UT’s Humanities Institute, leading its transformation into a research institute to support faculty as well as graduate & undergraduate students.
Collaboration and creating pathways for others to shine are the hallmarks of my professional life, including the Black Feminism on the Edge Book Series. I run a collaborative, student-based research lab on mobile reproductive health, host a podcast that explores why we go to college and what we want for higher education’s future, and co-host a podcast on first-generation college student culture. I’m currently working on book-length projects on travel, leisure, & wellness cultures; faith & the university; feminist ambivalence; and divorce.