Honors College Faculty/Staff

Bio

I am grateful to call the Honors College my home. Whether you are a student, a staff member, or a faculty member, Honors is an opportunity to invest in yourself…if you choose to take it. I find great joy in teaching first-year foundation students, beginning with our first milestone Summer Symposium Orientation and continuing into the fall as we introduce leadership theory in the course Theories and Strategies of Community Change. During their latter semesters, I provide foundation students a musical lens to social justice in the course Community & Arts as well as facilitate a retreat, which prepares students for life beyond WCU in the milestone Crossroads.

I also have the pleasure of teaching within the Honors Seminar pathway, designing special topic courses including Leadership & Strategic Innovation as well as Leadership in Team & Group Dynamics, otherwise known as the Survivor Class. I also enjoy teaching courses within the Minor in Civic & Professional Leadership such as the foundation courses Leadership through Film and Theories of Leadership for Today’s Societies, and the final course Contemporary Challenges in Leadership.  

In addition to my appointment to the Honors College, I also teach music production in the Wells School of Music’s (WSOM) Department of Theory, Composition, & History.

I have the pleasure of teaching the Studio Composition Major foundation course Studio Production I, as well as specialized, applied courses Music Technology Essentials and Audio Recording Essentials within the Music Education and Music Performance majors respectively. I have also taught Music Theory and Aural Skills courses for all music majors. Finally, I have designed and continue to teach graduate-level a cappella courses for the Wells Summer Music Institute (WSMI) such as Foundations of Contemporary A Cappella and Applications of Contemporary A Cappella.

I am an active scholar in the field of leadership and music education, having presented research and workshops at professional conferences by the International Leadership Association (ILA) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). I play active roles in other professional associations such as a co-chair of the teaching in pedagogy-andragogy focus area network in the Association of Leadership Educators (ALE) and all-state director for the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA). With prior scholarship in music education and technology and current research in leadership and creativity, I aim to foster a community of innovators to dream big and inspire change.

Finally, I would be remiss not to share my work in contemporary a cappella. I have the privilege of traveling the country, working with high school and collegiate a cappella groups as an arranger, studio producer, clinician, and director. As a regular contributor to professional associations such as the Contemporary A Cappella Association (CASA), the A Cappella Education Association (AEA), and NE Voices at festivals like LAAF, SoJam, BOSS, NACC, and AcaTex. This field of inquiry has revealed to me how music can foster creativity, collaboration, and community. Ultimately, I aim to help students in both honors and music discover that same sense of purpose in their own pursuits, recognizing the power they have to create, collaborate, and build community.