I am a native of Tucson, Arizona and lived almost all of my life there. I have an undergraduate degree in piano performance as well as a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D in Spanish Literature from the University of Arizona. It seemed natural to me to be a Wildcat, because my father was a business professor there for 24 years. I live now in Tempe and have family both in the Tucson and Phoenix areas. Although I have lived elsewhere, I feel most at home in the Sonoran Desert, heat and all!

I finished my Ph.D. in December 2010 with a dissertation on an early 15th-century medieval poet from Seville, of Genoese background, named Micer Francisco Imperial, the first Spanish-language imitator of Dante. I have a special love of the medieval literature of dreams and visions. I specialized in Medieval and Golden Age literature from Spain but with my minor areas of Colonial Latin American, Modern Peninsular (Spanish) and other coursework in Latin American Literature I am also a generalist and do enjoy teaching outside of my main area of research.

I have been teaching Spanish since 2005, as a graduate student at the University of Arizona, and in visiting professor positions at the University of Arkansas (2011-2014) and Arizona State University (2014-2015). I have taught all levels of Spanish language, literature and culture, from first semester language courses to doctoral seminars in Medieval Spanish literature.

In my free time I enjoy classical music - hearing concerts, singing in choirs and playing the piano; reading for pleasure and participating in activities at my church community. I was an active hiker in the past and enjoyed a few wonderful hikes in Arkansas. I look forward to getting out more in nature now that I'm back in Arizona.