I am one of the Production Mangers at Forest Hill Church in Charlotte, NC. I am also an Adjunct Professor at UNC Charlotte.
I was previously a Teaching Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) in the Department of Software and Information Systems. I have taught courses in Human Computer Interaction, Rapid Prototyping, and Interaction Design. My research focused on interface explorability, user satisfaction with the design process, and satisficing behavior intrinsic to searching large parameter spaces.
I received a B.S. in Computer Science from the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University (NU). Upon graduation, I accepted a research staff position in the Center for Technology and Social Behavior at NU, where I continued to develop an interest and experience in interaction design. Soon after, I joined the College of Computing and Informatics at UNCC to pursue a PhD in Computing and Information Systems. In August of 2015, I received my PhD after having successfully defended my dissertation titled: Explorability, Satisficing, and Satisfaction in Parameter Spaces.
During my research career, I have had the privilege of being an active collaborator on different National Science Foundation funded research projects in multiple areas: virtual peers that model the dialect and gestures used by minority children, software intervention in children with high functioning Autism, bridging the gap between the fields of modern dance and computer science, and understanding the role between tangible computing and creative cognition. I have taught Human Computer Interaction over a many semesters, and have I received stellar reviews from my students. My goal has been to use my own diverse background of experiences to foster a learning environment that encourages students to discover the value of HCI as it pertains to their unique interest in the field of computing.
I have really enjoyed traveling and learning about new cultures over the years: China to participate in a research collaboration program, Denmark to present published work at a conference, and Egypt as part of a global service project. I have also been heavily involved in the Charlotte community: serving on leadership committees, coordinating volunteer teams, co-leading a Lego Robotics after school club, supporting local non-profits as an audio/video engineer, and volunteering in various other capacities. I have also been a collaborator in numerous local interactive dance productions and interactive arts exhibitions.