BIO

I am linguist focusing on Spanish. I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chicano Studies, Languages, and Linguistics at the University of Texas at El Paso.

I received my PhD in Hispanic Linguistics from The University of New Mexico in May, 2024. Additionally, I have an MA in Interpreting and Translation Studies from Wake Forest University and a double BA in Journalism and Spanish from the University of Wyoming. My main areas of research are child language acquisition, sociolinguistics, bilingualism, and language contact. 

I have worked as a Spanish<>English medical interpreter providing consecutive interpreting between Spanish-speaking patients and English-speaking medical staff. Additionally, I translated business documents, presentations, and letters from Spanish to English for Prolanser Translations. Lastly, I have years experience teaching Spanish language courses at all levels in addition to courses in Hispanic Linguistics, Spanish writing development, and cultural studies. 

While I learned Spanish as an adult, I am Hispanic and take a great deal of pride in the fact that I reclaimed my heritage language later in life. In addition to studying Spanish and geeking out on linguistics, I enjoy playing my bass guitar, listening to music and dancing, traveling, and spending time with loved ones.