Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Health Sciences and am the Public and Community Health Program Director. As a public and community health professional, believe in being highly connected and involved in the community. This allows me to be an agent of change to create a better, safer, and healthier community for a• PhD in Community Health, Specialization in Disability Studies, minor in Gender and Women's Studies from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign • M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign • B.A. in Psychology from Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, ILll.  

 My research interests are diverse spanning Disability Studies and Gender and Women’s Studies, and include accessibility, the intersections of abuse, disability, and health, parental rights of people with disabilities, and policy research. My overall research objective is to improve the rights and lives of people with disabilities.