• Writing & Editing: Strong Writing and Grammar | Storytelling, Editing and Proofreading | Adapting Voice and Tone | Clarity and Flow, Consistent Style

• Content Strategy: Planning and Organizing Content | Understanding Audiences | Managing Editorial Calendars | Aligning Content with Goals

• Research & Analysis: Fact-Checking | Gathering and Evaluating Information | Tracking Content Performance | Understanding Market and Audience Trends 

• Collaboration & Communication - Working Across Teams, Giving and Receiving Feedback, Managing Stakeholders, Building Positive Relationships, Contributing Creative Ideas 

• Project Management - Prioritizing Tasks, Meeting Deadlines, Organizing Workflows, Maintaining Quality, Handling Multiple Projects at Once, Overseeing Budgeting

• Technical & Platform Proficiency: Google Workspace | Microsoft Office Suite | Slack | Hive | Monday | WordPress | Squarespace | Canva | Constant Contact | Chat GPT| Gemini | MLA | Chicago | AVID | Adobe

Bookelicious

Director of Curation & Content Strategy, 2020 - Present

Lead Curator, 2018 - 2020

• Oversaw content operations for an online catalog of 44K+ children’s books, directing title selection, organization, and data management to align business strategy with mission and values.

• Led 3 remote global teams (27 staff), directing hiring, onboarding, performance reviews, and mentoring to support growth and retention.

• Managed an annual budget of $350K; developed operational systems, KPIs, dashboards, and reporting frameworks that decreased labor costs by 30% while increasing output by 50%.

• Directed 85+ cross-functional projects totaling $3.5M in revenue; optimized workflows to reduce project lifecycle by 75% while driving an average of 55% of total company revenue annually. 

• Spearheaded collection development, including conceptualization and launch of Experience Spotlight and Community Voices products, designed to highlight experiences of racial, ethnic, and religious groups as well as disabled and LGBTQ+ communities.

Queer Majority

Editor in Chief, 2018 - 2020

• Launched publication from vision to execution; wrote business plan, led brand and logo design, developed style guides, oversaw website development, and planned editorial calendar.  

• Ran daily operations to support publication of 8 magazine issues; solicited and edited submissions, wrote essays and ledes, selected artwork, managed layout, and drove engagement strategy. 

• Led content and operational strategy that grew readership to 17K+; researched and developed issue themes, planned regular columns, shaped voice and standards, monitored quality metrics. 

• Conceptualized and launched “Business of Sex Profiles” (2020- ) and “Painted Stories” (2020- ) columns to build community and promote business partnerships through art and storytelling; developed profile formats, interview questions, and column voices.

• Hired and managed a cross-functional global team of 25 writers, artists, designers, and marketers.

Bi.org

Columnist, 2018 - 2019

• Author of “The In-between”, a biweekly opinion column that centered on topics related to identity.

Contemporary Critical Culture Academic Journal

Article Editor, 2013 - 2014

Peer Reviewer, 2012 - 2013

• Managed a team of 3 peer reviewers; solicited and compiled reviewers’ assessment, and drafted a comprehensive summary of recommendations for the journal editor.

• Evaluated submitted essays, provided written feedback, and advised on acceptance/rejection.  

Doctor of Philosophy, Cinema & Media Studies (Africa and New Media) 2017
University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA

Master of Arts, Cinema-Television (Culture and Global Media) 2011
University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA

Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, Minor: African and African American Studies 2007
Arizona State University | Tempe, AZ

Information and communications technologies and development policy in Sub-Saharan Africa; migration policy, African Diaspora growth and population statistics; cultural production and participation in global culture industry; digital technology, popular culture, representation and identity

“Dig.it.(a)al(l): Tracing Digitization in South Africa Through AfricasGateway.com.” Journal of African Media Studies 10, no. 1 (2018).

“African State of Mind: Hip Hop, Identity and the Effects of Africa Rising.” PhD diss., University of Southern California, 2017.

“‘Ghana Meets the World’: Remixing Popular Culture on OMG! Ghana.” Future Texts: Subversive Performance and Feminist Bodies. Vicki Callahan & Virginia Kuhn (eds). Anderson, SC: Parlor Press, 2016.

“Talking Across the Tables: A Conversation with Mark V. Campbell,” Spectator: The University of Southern California Journal of Film and Television Criticism 34.1 (Spring 2014)

Review: Şaul, Mahir and Ralph A. Austen (eds). Viewing African Cinema in the Twenty-First Century: Art Films and the Nollywood Video Revolution. African Studies Quarterly Vol. 13, Issue 1-2 (Spring 2012)

Review: Carter, Donald Martin. Navigating the African Diaspora: The Anthropology of Invisibility. Black Diaspora Review (March 2012)

Review: Childs, Erica Chito. Fade to Black and White: Interracial Images in Popular Culture. Spectator: The University of Southern California Journal of Film and Television Criticism 31.2 (Fall 2011)

“A Brief History of AfricasGateway.com and the Development of South African Hip Hop Culture and Community,” International Association for the Study of Popular Music Annual Conference, São Paulo, Brazil. June 2015.

“Finding Diaspora: An Investigation of the African Diaspora on AfricasGateway.com,” Global Fusion Annual Conference, Austin, TX. October 2014.

“A Language of Diaspora: The Role of Hip Hop on Africanhiphop.com,” University of Southern California Scholars Research Symposium, Los Angeles, CA. April 2013.

“‘Ghana Meets the World’: Remixing Popular Culture on OMG! Ghana,” Annenberg Graduate Symposium, Los Angeles, CA. April 2013.

“The Other Side of Diaspora,” Stanford Forum for African Studies Annual Meeting, Palo Alto, CA. October 2012.

“The Virtual Joint: Practicing Diaspora on Africanhiphop.com,” Digital Crossroads Conference, Utrecht, Netherlands. June 2012.

“A Language of Diaspora: The Role of Hip Hop on Africanhiphop.com,” International Association for the Study of Popular Music-Canada Annual Conference, Wolfville, Nova Scotia. June 2012.

“The African Diaspora in Theory and Practice: A Case Study of Africanhiphop.com,” Annenberg Graduate Symposium, Los Angeles, CA. April 2012.

“A Past that Never Was: Africa, Diaspora & the Function of Myth in Halie Gerima’s Sankofa,” Howard University International Conference, Washington, D.C. September 2011.

“That’s What’s Up: The Function of Africa in Underground Hip Hop,” University of New Mexico Cultural Studies Graduate Student Conference, Albuquerque, NM. April 2011.

“Word to Your Mother(Land): Race and Authenticity in Underground Hip Hop,” Annenberg Graduate Symposium, Los Angeles, CA. April 2011.

“Conversations in Hip Hop: The Question of Black Identity in Post 9/11 America,” Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA. March 2011.

• Annenberg Fellowship Award 2016-2017

• Research Enhancement Fellowship Award 2013-2014

• Academic and Professional Development Research Grant 2012

• Annenberg Fellowship Award 2011-2012

• Stephanie Gray Award 2011

• Annenberg Fellowship Award 2010-2011

• Black Alumni Association Scholarship Award 2009-2010

• Diversity Scholarship Award 2009-2010

• Maroon & Gold 2006-2007 Academic Scholarship Award

• Maroon & Gold Scholarship Distinguished Scholar Award 2005-2006

• Maroon & Gold 2005-2006 Academic Scholarship Award

English | Native Speaker

Japanese | Elementary Proficiency (Speaking, Reading & Writing)

• Spain, Turkey, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Namibia, United Arab Emirates | 2 months (2019) | Travel Abroad

• Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal | 5 months (2017) | Travel Abroad

• Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom | 2 months (2016) | Research Abroad

• Cape Town, South Africa | 4 months (2014) | Research Abroad

• Athlone, Ireland | 6 weeks (2005) | Study Abroad

• Tamuning, Guam | 1 year (2000-2001) | Lived Abroad