Why did you get involved with AAR and how is your work aligned?
I first attended the AAR Annual Meeting in 2012 when I was working at the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER), where I had the opportunity to share on a panel about the mentoring needs of LGBTIQ scholars. Throughout my graduate studies, presenting my work and being in conversation with scholars across religious studies has remained important to me. I have also enjoyed becoming involved with the steering committees of the Feminist Theory and Religious Reflection Unit and the Lesbian-Feminisms and Religion Unit.
What is your area of expertise or field of study?
My dissertation centers on lesbian feminist writings of the 1960s-80s and intervenes in conversations around negativity, temporality, and affect in feminist and queer theory, theology, and religious studies. More broadly, my research brings critical theories of gender, sexuality, and race to bear on questions of method and doctrine in religious studies and Christian thought.
How has AAR been beneficial to you and your career?
AAR has enabled me to keep up with friends and colleagues, even as we’ve moved to different institutions across the country. The support that comes from these opportunities to catch up with old friends and to meet new ones has been immensely generative for me over the years.
What book is on your nightstand that you're reading or intend to read in the future?
I’m just finishing up Wild Seed, the first book in Octavia Butler’s Patternist series.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I really enjoy cooking and baking, and I also do a bit of biking and gardening.