Before joining the sociology department at Muhlenberg in 2006, I received my B.A. from California State University, Northridge, a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Washington and my Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.   I also worked for many years as a health educator and policy analyst between and while pursuing my degrees.  My research and teaching interests are grounded in my professional experience and include sexuality, gender, health and qualitative and historical research methods.  Most of my work has focused on reproductive health, including family planning and abortion, and on AIDS.  In particular, my work explores the process by which health policy constructs meaning about sexuality and gender, how this meaning is implemented through public health practices and then how these meanings and practices influence individual behavior.  Currently, I am working on a project that examines how international AIDS prevention policy attempts to impose single, unified concepts of “good” sex and of gender, using Malawi as a case study.  The goal of my teaching is to help students explore their assumptions, their identities and their place in the world using sociological knowledge, theory and methodologies.  It is my role as a teacher and mentor to establish a learning environment and relationship with students that supports both the acquisition of knowledge and personal development.

Selected Publications