Teaching

Current Appointment: Instructor of Creative Writing and Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz

My teaching is grounded in the conviction that literature and creative writing are transformative practices that cultivate critical attention, empathy, and the imaginative risk necessary for just and meaningful intellectual exchange. I cultivate the classroom as a collective site of inquiry, where students approach writing simultaneously as an art form and as a practice of producing knowledge.

For a full Curriculum Vitae, please submit a request.

Teaching and Research Interests

  • Poetry and Poetics

  • Divinatory Poetics

  • Witchcraft Studies

  • Feminist Autotheory

  • Critical Race & Ethnic Studies

  • Feminist Theory

  • Queer Theory

  • Social Justice

  • Disability Studies

Education

  • PhD in Literature, Creative/Critical Writing Concentration with Designated Emphases in Critical Race & Ethnic Studies and Feminist Studies

    • University of California, Santa Cruz, 2027 (expected)

  • MA in Literature

    • The Department of Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2024

  • MFA in Poetry

    • Creative Writing, Goddard College, Plainfield, VT 2011

  • BA in English Literature with Minors in Marine Science & Biology

    • University of Tampa, FL, 2000

Teaching Positions

  • Instructor, Creative Writing & Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2022-Present

  • Instructor, John R. Lewis College, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2025–Present

  • Faculty, Summer Writing Program, Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, Naropa University, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2026

  • Adjunct Professor, Writing Department, Pima Community College, 2019-2021

  • Weekend Workshop Professor, Writing Department, Pima Community College, 2011

  • Adjunct Professor, English Department, Pima Community College, 2011-2014

  • Writing Instructor & Curriculum Designer, STEP: Student Expedition Program, 2012-2020

  • Mentor Teacher, Writing the Community Program, University of Arizona Poetry Center, 2019-2021

  • MFA & Community Workshop Instrutor, University of Arizona Poetry Center, 2011

Recent Visiting Appointments

Workshops, Classes, and Lectures

  • “Divinatory Poetics.” The University of Arizona, class visit for Prof. TC Tolbert, LGBTQ+ Institute, Tucson, AZ, September 2025.

  • “Divinatory Poetics.” University of Arizona LGBTQ+ Institute, Tucson, AZ, September 2025.

  • “Teresa Carmody’s A Healthy Interest in the Lives of Others.” Lucy Corin’s Launch Club, Berkeley, CA, March 2025.

  • “The Witchcraft We Need.” PhD in Literary Arts Graduate Lecture, the University of Denver, Denver, CO, April 2024.

  • “The Witchcraft We Need.” Wildlife Conservation Society, Women and Allies for Gender Equity (WAGE) Employee Resource Group, Bronx, NY, April 2024.

  • “What is Witchcraft?” The University of California, Santa Cruz, class visit for Prof. Renee Fox, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, November 2023.

  • “Witches in America.” PhD in Literary Arts Graduate Lecture, the University of Denver, Denver, CO, April 2023.

  • “Trans/Queer Media and Storytelling.” Prescott College, class visit for Prof Kye Davolt, Prescott, AZ, January 2022.

Recent Conference Presentations

  • “Sounding and Unsounded: a panel on Divinatory Poetics”

    • Creative Practices & Bridging the Invisible Conference, UNC Charlotte, NC, October 2026.

  • “Monster and Saint: the linguistic acrobatics of Joan of Arc”

    • Festival of Monsters Conference, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, October 2026.

  • “Reclaiming Creative Critical Writing Ancestors”

    • Modern Language Association Conference, Los Angeles, CA, January 2027.

  • “Divinatory Poetics: Queer Counter-Prophecy and Radical Futurities”

    • New Orleans Poetry Festival, New Orleans, LA, April 2026.

  • “Towards a Definition of Witchcraft”

    • QGrads LGBTQ Studies Conference, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, October 2025.

  • “Towards a Definition of Witchcraft”

    • Festival of Monsters Conference, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, October 2025.

  • “Poetry &: Insights into Collaboration”

    • New Orleans Poetry Festival, New Orleans, LA, April 2025.

  • “Experiments in Autobiography & Life Writing”

    • Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture, University of Louisville, KY, February 2024.

  • “Writing Under the Influence: Accessing the Unknown through Divination”

    • Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference, Kansas City, MO, February 2024.

Related Professional Experience

  • Founder, Four Queens Poetics Educational Platform, 2020–present

  • Personal Assistant to Dr. Susan Stryker, 2017–2021

  • Founder & Executive Director, Casa Libre en la Solana, 2003–2018

  • Program Coordinator, University of Arizona Institute for LGBT Studies, 2014–2017

  • Associate Editor, University of Arizona Institute for the Study of Planet Earth, 2005–2009