I am an educator, designer, and researcher who is passionate about the power visual communication has to speak beyond the bounds of language.
Growing up in New England, I read a lot of Robert Frost as a child. I think 'The Road Not Taken' shaped my life on a subconscious level. I love to learn as much from my students as they do from me. I love to switch gears and delve deeply into a new idea. I am never satisfied I know enough. I will take as many detours along the way as possible. I complete every side-quest.
Before joining Simmons I had a varied professional and academic career. I worked for six years at a corporate and broadcast video production company. During that time I was a production assistant, a grip, a teleprompter, a sound-person, an editor, a motion graphic designer, an art director, a post-production supervisor, and co-creative director. I want to know how things work from beginning to end and prefer to get my hands in the mix. I moved to Scotland for the next six years. I had the privilege of studying at the Glasgow School of Art and walking its storied halls before two tragic fires took the historic building from us. It was there that my personal interest in comic books shifted to a professional one. At Edinburgh, I dug into how the structures we use when reading comics can be used and subverted to allow us to communicate in a way that allows us to transcend the limits of language.
Moving back to New England, I have taught across Massachusetts, from Wentworth in the Fenway to Salem State on Cape Ann to American International College in Springfield. What ties the various threads of my story together is a desire to empower the voices of those whose stories might get otherwise overlooked. It could be using comics to tell a divergent story of immigration or supporting a first-generation student in her journey through higher education. I took the road less traveled, and it has made all the difference. I want to support others on their journey, no matter what road they take.
Education
- Ph.D. in Design, 2017, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh UK, Thesis: Analyzing and Interrogating Narrative Structures Through Comic Books
- MFA in Communication Design, 2012, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow UK
- BA in Graphic Design, 2004, Regis College, Weston, MA
License/Certifications
- Certified Scorer for American Association of Colleges & Universities in Written Communication VALUE Rubric
What I Teach
- COMM 121: Visual Communication
- COMM 210: Introduction to Graphic Design
- COMM 244: Web 1—Design for the World Wide Web
Research/Creative Activities
The focus of my research and academic design practice centers around post-structuralism and how it relates to communication, specifically in the medium of comics. Comics blend various levels of language—visual, textual, sound, diegetic and mimetic—which allows it to be more than the sum of its parts. I am fascinated by how we can activate multi-modal storytelling to create new meaning and speak the unutterable.
Publications
- 'Jason Shiga’s Meanwhile and digital adaptability of non-traditional narratives in comics.' In the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 2014.
Professional Affiliations & Memberships
- Member of American Institute of Graphic Arts [AIGA] Boston
- Founding Member of the Comics Studies Society
- Member of University & College Designers Association
- Member of University Film & Video Association
- Member of Women in Film & Video New England