About
Hello and welcome! I received my PhD in 2018 from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in the philosophy of youth and childhood studies. Before moving to North Carolina, I received a BA in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. As an undergraduate, I also spent time living and studying abroad in Israel and Australia. My philosophical interests center on youth liberation, which I believe has transformative potential. That’s a picture of me in 1987.
I have been teaching philosophy at NC State since 2018. I love teaching and care a great deal about my NC State students, who are consistently awesome. They have also been in a crisis since Covid began. Over the last 20 years, I’ve also taught philosophy at UNC-Chapel Hill, Elon University, Durham Technical Community College, and the state prison in Warren County, NC. My students in Warren County were some of the most enthusiastic learners I have ever encountered. I’ve taught a variety of courses, including courses on youth liberation and power, environmental ethics, philosophy of education, philosophy of gender, and philosophy of language. At NC State, I most often teach Introduction to Philosophy and Bioethics.
I live in Durham with my amazing 4-year-old, who enjoys avocados, hiking, and Google Maps street view. We get together frequently with neighbors to play and sing music on our front porches. I also like campfires, playing capoeira, and swimming. I write and perform kids’ music, which you can find here: www.kidsforpresident.com. You can go here to read an interview I did with Q-Notes about my work with Insideout, a nonprofit for queer youth, which I co-founded and then directed for 15 years.