I’m an associate professor of sociology with specializations in environmental justice, health and illness, and the sociology of risk. I was trained in quantitative survey research and secondary data analysis, but developed skills in mixed-methods research approaches in recent years that include field observations and focus groups. A unifying theme throughout my career is the entwined configuration of health, risk, and society, with a focus on environmental and health issues through constructionist and social justice frameworks.

In my 20th year as a faculty member in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at UD, I regularly teach introductory sociology (Honors and non-Honors). Further, I have significant experience teaching quantitative sociological research methods, social statistics, and data analysis, and recently have focused on teaching courses that I created (Sociology of Diagnosis SOCI375 and Environment and Health SOCI335). In fall 2022, I created and taught a new course for the UD Honors College called “Deconstructing Definitions: The Medicalization of Society” as part of a new initiative to serve incoming Honors undergraduates. I also offer other core courses in the department (e.g., Sociology of Risk and Environmental Sociology).

I am a core faculty member at the Disaster Research Center (DRC). I take pride in professional and university service, committing a significant amount of time to numerous initiatives and offices around UD’s campus that included serving on UD’s Institutional Review Board and University Faculty Senate, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), UD’s Continuing-Track Caucus, as well as the American Sociological Association’s Taskforce on Contingent Faculty.