I am an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama, trained as an archaeologist and paleoethnobotanist (B.A., Anthropology, New York University; M.A./Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley). My work centers on foodways across time and space—how people grow, share, politicize, and make meaning through food. My research spans ancient and present-day contexts, with ongoing projects in the Americas, and explores topics including plant domestication, culinary traditions, food insecurity, gastropolitics, and environmental change.

I currently serve as Assistant Director of Water Social Science with CONSERVE, a transdisciplinary research group at the Alabama Water Institute focused on challenges at the food–water nexus. I also co-direct the Artificial Intelligence Teaching Enhancement Initiative (AITEI), which supports faculty in navigating the pedagogical and ethical dimensions of generative AI. In addition, I lead the STRAKER (Student Training in Responsible AI Knowledge and Ethics Research) Project, an NSF-funded initiative that adapts the case-based Ethics Bowl model to teach AI ethics in STEM classrooms. I have long been involved in advancing ethics education in archaeology and have organized the Society for American Archaeology’s annual Ethics Bowl since 2017.

My work has been recognized through numerous awards for research, teaching, and service, including the Society for American Archaeology’s Dissertation Award, multiple SAA Presidential Recognition Awards, and university honors for pedagogical innovation, teaching excellence, and faculty development. Beyond the university, I am committed to public-facing scholarship and collaborative research. I strive to make scholarship accessible and impactful, fostering dialogue across disciplines, communities, and historical divides.