I am an educator, instructional designer, educational product developer, writer, multimedia producer, and editor with 15-years experience designing, publishing, and teaching educational experiences spanning a wide array of topics both in the classroom and in eLearning settings. 

I hold a B.A. in English and Creative Writing (UNC Chapel Hill), M.A. in Humanities and Social Thought (NYU), and Ph.D. in German Languages and Literatures (NYU).

I have produced college-level educational content and developed educational products for students in the humanities and the creative fields. 

My Goal as an Educator: Storytelling

My goal — whether as an instructional designer, university professor, writer, editor, media producer, or parent — is to create educational narratives. I tell stories that engage learners and impart even the most complex knowledge clearly and with context that shows why it is necessary and relevant. Importantly, these stories also challenge learners’ preconceptions and encourage them to ask questions and explore further. 

Instructional Design Experience

As Head of Instructional Design at Yellowbrick, I create educational experiences based on asynchronous video lessons I compose after a lengthy interview process with faculty and SMEs provided by our university and brand partners. To this course backbone, I create and add rigorous supplementary readings, infographics and other supporting materials and a full complement of assessments — from knowledge-check quizzes to comprehensive project-based capstone sequences. 

As an Instructional designer, I also bring experience in:

• Managing an Instructional Design team’s development of educational content

• Establishing educational and content standards and best practices 

• Establishing course architecture based on research discovery

• Overseeing video production processes

• Building relationships with industry SMEs and university faculty

• Shortening production cycle times

• Coaching and mentoring junior Instructional Design staff

My work at Yellowbrick.co contributed to its recognition as one of the Top 50 Emerging Companies in Higher Education by Emerge Education.

Plays Well with Others

My strong communication and interpersonal skills come into play working closely with university partners and heavy-hitting brands such as Rolling Stone, Complex Media, Shopify, and Women’s Wear Daily. I triangulate Yellowbrick and partner needs to define and meet all educational, communication, and commercial goals from product landscape analysis and project scoping at the outset through course creation, marketing, and ongoing, post-launch evaluation and updates. I also have a proven track record of aligning product goals with marketing initiatives.

Rigorous but Accessible

I never became the professional jazz bassist I thought I would, but I worked in fashion, publishing, and the culinary arts before settling into a career in higher education. I have taught at NYU, Rutgers, and Barnard College, earning multiple awards for outstanding teaching. 

In the classroom, I taught German language, philosophy, literature, media studies, and political theory — all courses that require translating often obscure and complex topics into accessible material that relate to learners’ lives. I believe the variety of my professional experience helps me turn academic materials into real-world examples without losing anything in translation.

This has become my approach to all instruction, and I always welcome the challenge to make learning experiences that are both rigorous and accessible.

Background and Personal Life

I have spent extensive time living, studying, and working abroad in the UK and Germany, which helps me be open to multiple ways of solving problems. I currently live in Brooklyn with my wife and two young kids. In my free time, I enjoy cooking and playing bass.