I love the play of languages and the spark of sharing ideas. I was the kid my local public librarians came to know by name, an omnivorous reader from a young age. My intense desire for learning fed a growing taste for travel as I explored music, literature, visual art, and cultural anthropology at universities in various US states and the UK. I earned a PhD from Duke University and put my Spanish-language skills to the test, living for almost four years in Mexico City while doing research with fascinating people there.

In recent years, I have published scholarly and journalistic articles. My first book, Love and Rage: Autonomy in Mexico City’s Punk Scene, came out in fall 2022 from Wesleyan University Press. In addition to my experience navigating life in a second language, I draw on my research and writing skills to help fellow academic and nonfiction writers wrangle their big ideas onto the page in compelling order and with sentence-level flow. I also call on my publishing experience to support authors in guiding a book manuscript from proposal to production.