About

My work starts from the premise that people's understanding of reality is shaped by the stories, places, and cultural encounters available to us. I develop place-based programs, partnerships, and exhibitions that engage specific communities, bridging scientific and embodied knowledge to address the challenges of climate change, health equity, and public life.

I hold a PhD in American Studies from Yale, where I trained as an ethnographer. That training has taken me from museum exhibitions to documentary film, from ethnographic fieldwork to international cultural strategy.

Experience

My practice spans cultural research and strategy, documentary production, exhibition curation, and collaborative writing and editing. Working at the intersection of climate and health, I currently consult for Wellcome on creative and cultural programming. I served as New York cultural lead for Wellcome's Mindscapes, an international program on mental health. At the Museum of the City of New York, I co-curated Germ City: Microbes and the Metropolis and Urban Indian: Native New York Now, and contributed to City of Workers, City of Struggle. At the University of Massachusetts, I co-led a nationwide ethnographic study of retirement insecurity, conducting 260 qualitative interviews and drafting the resulting book, Downhill from Here. I have worked on projects with the American Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn Historical Society, Urban Omnibus, The New York Climate Exchange, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, NYC Department of Transportation, CUNY's Center for the Humanities, and Pioneer Works.

What connects these projects is an interest in how cultural experience can rebuild the trust between people and the institutions and environments that shape their lives. I bring together artists, scientists, policymakers, health professionals, and communities who might not otherwise be in the same room.