Ph.D. candidate in Creative Writing and Literature, University of Houston
M.A. in Playwriting and Dramatic Literature, expected May 2001 from the University of Cincinnati
Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of Houston, December 1999.
B.A. in English and Journalism, James Madison University, Virginia, May 1993.
Studied Theatre and English at the University of London, England, Spring 1991.

Teaching Experience

• Teaching Assistant, English Department, University of Houston, January 1997-present.
• Instructor, Huntington Learning Center, Houston, TX, Summer 2000.
• Instructor, Summer Creative Writing Workshop, The Rice School/La Escuela Rice, June 1997.
• Writer in Residence, Writers in the Schools, Houston, TX, September 1996-present.
• Teaching Assistant, English Department, University of Cincinnati, September 1993-August 1995.
• Elective Teacher, Young Writers' Workshop, University of Virginia, July 1993.

• Academic Tutor, At Home Tutoring Services, Houston, TX, August 1999-May 2000
• Academic Tutor, Learning Support Services, University of Houston, August 1996-May 1999
• Academic Tutor, Developmental Writing, Department of Language Arts, University College, University of Cincinnati, Sept. 1995-June 1996.
• Graduate Tutor, Writing Center, Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Cincinnati, September 1995-June 1996.

• Editor/Technical Writer, Market Study International, Houston, Texas, June-August 1997.
• Contributing Writer, The Insider's Guide to JMU, College Bound Publications, Fall 1992.
• Intern, The Star-Tribune, Chatham, Virginia, May-August 1992.
• Assistant Articles Editor, The Curio, Harrisonburg, Virginia, January-May 1992.
• Features Editor, The Breeze, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, Summers 1990 and 1991.

• Cambor Fellowship in Fiction Writing, University of Houston, August 1996.
• Firegirl, full-length play, M.A. Thesis, published August 1996.
• Graduate Playwriting Prize, University of Cincinnati, May 1996.
• Elsie B. Westheimer Award for Fiction, Cincinnati, May 1994.
• Presented story, "Magnolia Girls," to Reading Monsters, Reading Culture graduate conference, University of Cincinnati, April 1994.
• Scenes from Firegirl, full-length play, performed at the University of Cincinnati, February 1994.
• Scenes from Streetcorner, full-length play, performed at the University of Cincinnati Master Class Workshop with Edward Albee, October 1993.
• Grist: A Collection of Fiction, Dramatic and Nonfiction Works Focusing on the Rural South, Bachelor's Honor Thesis, published May 1993.
• Streetcorner, full-length play, staged reading, London, February 1991.

Rhetoric and Composition:
• Computer Assisted Instruction for first-year college composition classes
• Concerns of audience for papers in first-year college composition classes
• Workshop approach and small "tutorials" for first semester English students
• Merging creative writing techniques with composition techniques
Literary Criticism:
• Modern American Drama, particularly that of women writers
• African American literature, particularly dramatic literature
• twentieth-century fiction, with an emphasis on short fiction
• Christianity and literature
Other Interests:

I am interested in tracing the woman's movement as it relates to Christianity. A special interest of mine in that area is in researching the lives of women who chose to remain single and celibate because of a "calling" from God. I am also interested in how women's roles within even conservative churches are changing due to the influence of the feminist movement.