I am an educator, writer, and scholar of African American musical heritage, and my teaching brings together close reading, historical context, and clear, practical guidance for students at different stages of their academic development. I teach African American Studies and Ethnomusicology at UCLA and serve as an Adjunct Professor of Music at Cal Poly Pomona. My work centers on helping students become stronger writers, sharper thinkers, better listeners, and more confident readers of complex...
I am an educator, writer, and scholar of African American musical heritage, and my teaching brings together close reading, historical context, and clear, practical guidance for students at different stages of their academic development. I teach African American Studies and Ethnomusicology at UCLA and serve as an Adjunct Professor of Music at Cal Poly Pomona. My work centers on helping students become stronger writers, sharper thinkers, better listeners, and more confident readers of complex cultural, historical, and musical material.
As a teacher and mentor, I have supported students in developing college essays, research writing, personal statements, and analytical work across the humanities. My advising emphasizes clarity, structure, argument, and voice, with careful attention to what each student is trying to say and how to say it well.
Students I have worked with have been accepted to Connecticut College, Brandeis University, and NYU Abu Dhabi, and have matriculated to UCLA and USC.
I bring a strong background in higher education, curriculum design, academic writing, editing, and public scholarship. My approach is rigorous and supportive, grounded in the belief that strong writing grows through revision, close attention, and a real sense of purpose. Whether I am helping students strengthen an essay, refine a research question, prepare application materials, or work through a difficult reading, I try to make the process clear, grounded, and genuinely useful. I care about helping students understand not only what to revise, but why the revision matters and how stronger writing grows through structure, evidence, purpose, and attention to language. My goal is to give students practical tools they can carry forward, so that they leave with more than a better draft. They leave with a stronger sense of how to think, write, and communicate with clarity and confidence.
