I am an associate professor of history at Virginia Tech. My research interests are in oral history and colonial history in the American South. In Fall 2024, I am collaborating on an NEH-funded digital humanities project about the search for freedom in the seventeenth-century South; working with VT Publishing to document the Transition Town movement with the Oral. History Society; and continuing work with inclusive grassroots groups in Virginia to connect our students with oral history and preservation in diverse communities. This semester, you can find me at the Virginia Tribal Education Consortium meeting and the Digital Archives in the Commonwealth summit.

I’m also leading oral history workshops and providing advice and consultation for local folks (and farther-away folks, via Zoom). Think you might need some help? Just ask! Just note that I will not be traveling to conferences or teaching during the 2025 year.

My book, Plain Paths and Dividing Lines: Navigating Native Land and Water in the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake, is available to order! If you’d like me to come speak with your class or group about this or any of my public history work, just ask.

And PS: Our latest Southern Foodways Alliance work can be found here.