telling the story is complex.

…the narrative may require instruction.

so, i use teaching as a means to provide instruction & guidance when telling the story.

i have served as a session facilitator, presenter & coordinator for stand-alone teaching engagements, as well as for academic classes & training or leadership processes. i have created content for sessions that focus on: beyoncè (& leadership theory), travis scott (& policy enforcement), dj khaled (& performance management), toni morrison (& the why of residence life), big little lies (& conflict/confrontation) & black panther (& identity politics in academic settings).

i have presented as part of institutional training programs for resident assistants, residence hall council & honorary society members, greek letter organizations, graduate & professional students, full-time staff, & faculty. i have been invited to present at universities such as: duke university, north carolina central university, university of denver, north carolina state university, university of west georgia, valdosta state university, university of north carolina at greensboro, university of pennsylvania, georgia state university, university of georgia & others. i have presented at local, state, regional & national conferences including georgia housing officers (gho) annual conference, north carolina housing officers (ncho) annual conference, no frills annual conference, national association of college and university residence hall (nacurh) annual conference, national association of student personnel administrators (naspa), southeastern association of housing officers (seaho) & association of college & university housing officers- internationa l (acuho-i), among others.

…the narratives also require true action.

so, i incorporate facilitation & directed learning opportunities to better communicate the intricacies or details, when needed.

i have served as a lead facilitator for IMPACT, a 3 day institute through the national interfraternity council (nic), which brings together the greek council student leaders at an institution with their fraternity/sorority life staff, small group facilitators from neighboring institutions & lead facilitators from across the country. the lead facilitator trains the small group facilitators on the curriculum, & coordinates the entirety of the 3 day experience with input, guidance & goals from the institutions fsl staff. as a lead facilitator, i am responsible for ensuring that learning outcomes are achieved, that small group facilitators have the resource & space they need to complete their sessions, & that learning & relationship-building take place. i have also served as a lead facilitator for university greek letter student leader training, including contributing & assessing curriculum to the training coordinators.

as a black woman, i bring my own diverse greek experience to the group, & serve as an advocate for the historically black, latine, AAPI & multi-ethnic/cultural organizations that participate. it is important to me that students of color are able to define their own greek experiences & feel supported, heard & challenged to be great by those training, advising & supporting them & their organizations. i am passionate about the greek experience as a component of the undergraduate experience, & i work hard to ensure that students in greek organizations are not only aware of the legacy under which they serve, but the responsibility they have to uphold their organization’s & their campus’s hopes & expectations for their group & community.

…we know all narratives live in a context.

so, i use research & academic scholarship as a means to provide foundation & context when trying to best navigate how to most effectively share the story with others.

i am a trained & experienced researcher, including quantitative, qualitative & mixed method research methods. i have designed & implemented research & assessment protocols for departmental use, as well as for programmatic or initiative-specific causes. i have also served in assessment capacities for conferences, organizational work, individual research efforts & academic assignments. my expertise is focused primarily on mixed methods research including curriculum assessment, program assessment, survey & evaluation materials, & experiential & needs assessment. i have conducted research focused on residence life & housing, but has also been trained & has experience working within university organizational review protocols. i have attended the acuho-i professional standards institute in 2017, & have used the acuho-i standards, in conjunction with council for the advancement of standards (cas) protocols to create professional action & development plans, internship & practicum curricula & assessment, resident assistant performance management & evaluation processes, among various other aspects of program review & appraisal. i am an ongoing learner in assessment & research, & i stay current within this realm, as it continues to grow & develop within student affairs.

i wrote a dissertation (!!!) entitled “making meaning of assessment: the role & usage of assessment in resident assessment training”, which focused on the use of data derived from surveys & evaluations within housing & residence life student staff training programs. this mixed methods study utilized surveys, document collection, & interviews from housing & residence life programs in the southeast united states. from the research, i derived salient conclusions about the work of assessment in housing programs in the southeast region, as well as prescribed action steps & a research plan to further this field of study. because resident assistant training assessment is not a heavily researched field, but critical to the work that residence life programs do, i plan to deepen & widen my research & expand the knowledge base for the field.

& most importantly, the narrative has to connect with others.

so, i use the academic setting, when possible, as a means to create an environment where the narrative can live & thrive.

I have served as an instructor, facilitator & course coordinator for several different undergraduate leadership courses throughout my career.

i have taught psyc 4870 at valdosta state university, as part of the resident assistant application process. prospective ra candidates participated in an interview during the fall semester, enrolled in the course during the spring semester, while also participating in two more interviews during the spring semester, & placement either in a hall or as an alternate at the end of the spring semester. this course met weekly & included assessments, readings, group projects, presentations, journalling & a final exam. course sections ranged from 30-45 students. i also taught a similar course, cepd 4106, at the university of west georgia, as part of the resident assistant training process. newly hired resident assistants enrolled in the course during their first semester in the ra role, & the course served as an in-depth extension of the summer training program as well as extended into counseling & soft skills development & leadership curriculum. in this course, students had writing assignments, tests, exams, group projects, & an intensive reflection protocol for their first semester in the role. course sections ranged from 10-25 students each semester.

i also served as an instructor & course designer & liaison for ecd 220, at north carolina state university. similar to the other resident assistant courses that i have taught, ecd 220 focused on the role of ra candidates before they began the ra role, & taught them practical & soft skills for conflict resolution, effective communication practices, theory & skill development for community & relationship building, as well as content focused on values & identity. the course sections ranged from 35-50 students, & utilized an online classroom to manage assignments.

in addition to these specialized courses, i have also served as an instructor for 1101 orientation courses for first semester, first year students at valdosta state university & the university of west georgia. in these courses, i was responsible for creating course content, building & maintaining the online portals connected to each course, grading & assessing student performance in the course, coordinated guest speakers or special course content when appropriate, as well as working with the university to ensure compliance with attendance & grading policies. course sections ranged from 25-40 students.