As a scholar of information-sharing within communities, I draw on theories of information behavior to investigate how proximity in third places can create common ground environments that alter perspectives and foster deeper understanding among individuals with opposing viewpoints. My dissertation, A Good Cup of Coffee, a Little Slice of America: Finding Common Ground Through Information Flow in a Small-Town Texas Information Ground, emerged from this work. As charming as coffee shops can be, what impresses me most are the social connections made inside them. 

I earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Library Science from Texas Woman's University and a Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of North Texas. I have fifteen years of experience working in Texas school and academic libraries; I am an administrative board member for my local public library; and I have served as a SLIS faculty member since Spring 2020, teaching courses in school and public librarianship and reference services. 

Today I am engaged in the world of public libraries and the communities they serve. My current work focuses on how civil discourse can bridge divides in a polarized society; I explore how third-place environments can be facilitated through library programming; and I work to collect oral histories and preserve artifacts for community archives. Through these endeavors—whether research- or service-related—I am committed to upholding stories that too often go untold, unheard, and unrecorded.