Villa Rica, GA 30180

(770) 830-9892/(770) 656-1316

EDUCATION

Doctoral candidate: English and Religious/Cultural Studies, Union Institute and University, Cincinnati, OH.
M.A. English, University of West Georgia; December 2001; Graduate School valedictorian, nominated by English Department.

B.A. English and History, West Georgia College; graduated 1995 cum laude.

TEACHING AND UNIVERSITY SERVICE

August 2004 to Present: Lecturer, Dept. of English, University of West Georgia

Director, College of Arts and Sciences Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Program

Teach second-semester Freshman Composition, Oral Communication, Interdisciplinary Studies (Mythology and Religion), and World Literature.
Prepare and facilitate WAC workshops for Arts and Sciences faculty preparing to teach upper-division writing-intensive courses in their disciplines; liaison between WAC Executive Committee, A&S faculty, and Writing Center.

August 2004 to May 2006: Department of English Chair's Advisory Committee

Peer-appointed Lecturer representative. The Advisory Committee's primary function is to facilitate communication between the English and Philosophy Department and the Chair. Its broad function is to advise the chair on matters raised by the department or the Chair and to communicate the essence of that advice to the Department.

January-May 2005: College of Arts and Sciences Interdisciplinary Program Committee

Appointed by the Dean, this cross-disciplinary committee was charged with defining the duties and requisite experience/skills of Interdisciplinary Program Director.

August 2003 - 2004: Lecturer, Dept. of English, University of West Georgia

In addition to teaching second-semester Freshman Composition, Oral Communication, and XIDS courses, duties included planning, teaching, and refining experimental multi-section classes of English 1101, as well as training graduate teaching assistants, conducting Instructor teaching observations and evaluations, and mentoring new First Year faculty members.

January 2002- August 2003: Instructor, Dept. of English, University of West Georgia

First- and second-semester Freshman Composition, and Oral Communication/Self Staging. Peer-elected representative to English Department Writing Committee.

Auguust 2002-May 2003: English Department Writing Committee
Peer-appointed Instructor representative. Participated in developing and instituting new administrative structure for First Year Writing (FYW) program, as well as selecting and implementing the use of a standard style manual for all FYW courses.

PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

1991- 2002: Business Communication Consultant.

Wrote and presented business communication workshops and manuals on topics including: Public Presentation, Customer Service, Sales, Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, Stress Management, Team Functioning, Goal-Setting and Personal Development, Unlimited Thinking and Creativity, and Humor in the Workplace.

Wrote and produced sales training programs and manuals designed to keep sales reps awake.

Clients included:

Met Life: Westport, CT

Zoo Atlanta

Fernbank Museum

Current Assets: Atlanta, Chicago , Milwaukee

Met DisAbility: Atlanta, Hartford , Syracuse and Chicago

John Hancock Insurance, Atlanta

United Health Care: Minneapolis

State University of West Georgia Continuing Education

Creative Director of OxyMoron, a comedy/improv troupe which performed in Southern California , Missouri , and Atlanta .

1992-1998: The Georgian School , Carrollton, GA

Taught High School Grammar, Composition, American and English Literature, Geography, American Government, World History and Drama, as well as 4^th and 5^th Grade Creative Writing, Middle School Math and English.

1986-1991: Saddleback Valley Unified School District, Mission Viejo, California

Drama and improvisation teacher for grades 4-12, as well as Adult Education evening classes in Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, and Huntington Beach.

Co-founder (with SVUSD Recreation Department) and Creative Director for Saddleback Valley Community Theater, Mission Viejo , California .

PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS

March 2004: 17th Annual International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts Conference, Ft. Lauderdale , FL. "Songs of the Secret Fire: The Music of Creation and the Mythology of J. R. R. Tolkien."

April 2004: Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference, "Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth in Literature, Film, and Popular Culture" panel. "Songs of the Secret Fire: The Music of Creation and the Mythology of J. R. R. Tolkien."

May, 2004: International Medieval Congress, "Women in Islam" Panel--paper presentation and subsequent publication by Cornell University: " 'And in Their Absurdity Discover Joy': Images of Women as the Threshold to the Divine in the Poetry of Mevlana Jalalludin Rumi."

“ ‘The Rest is Not Our Business’: Navigating Chaos with the Divine Questioner.” 17th Annual International Conference in Literature, Visual Arts, and/or Cinema, Atlanta, GA , Nov. 8, 2002.

“ ‘Do Your Duty Toward Me; Make Me Happy’: Viewing Victor Frankenstein by the Light of Prometheus’s Fire.” International Conference on Romanticism, Tallahassee , FL, Oct. 13, 2002.

“Blood Sacrifices, Democracy and Primary Colors: The Election of the Ultimate Alpha Male.” 24^th Annual Conference on Film and Literature, Tallahassee, FL, January 31, 1999.

Book reviews, Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, Vol. 14, Number 4: Ann Petty, One Ring to Bind Them: Tolkien's Mythology; Mark Eddy Smith, Tolkien's Ordinary Virtues; Robert Ellwood, Frodo's Quest: Living the Myth of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.