About

I am a multimedia storyteller, scholar, and educator exploring how digital media shapes identity, belonging, and cultural narratives. My journey from practitioner to researcher has been guided by a single question: How do stories influence the way we see ourselves and each other?

For over two decades, I worked as a multimedia journalist and visual storyteller, documenting communities from New York City's streets to the Western Sahara. My camera became a tool for bearing witness and capturing the stories of immigrant day laborers organizing for dignity, Sahrawi families separated by conflict, and communities fighting for recognition and belonging. My work has earned recognition including a Picture of the Year International (POYi) Award of Excellence and features with WNYC New York Public Radio and the Queens Museum of Art.

But the more stories I told, the more questions I had. How do media representations influence the ways marginalized communities understand themselves? What happens when the stories told about us don't match our lived experiences? How can digital storytelling become a tool for resistance and transformation?

These questions led me to academia. I am completing my Ph.D. in Communication from the University of South Florida (2025 graduation), where I developed a creative research methodology combining performance art, automethodologies, and media analysis. In my dissertation I examine how Latinx/e communities use digital storytelling to challenge dominant narratives and cultivate belonging. I was invited to develop this project by the National Communication Association's prestigious Doctoral Honors Seminar.

Today, I bridge my practitioner and scholarly identities. As Assistant Director of Communications for the Florida College Access Network, I led strategic storytelling initiatives connecting education access to economic opportunity across Florida. As a researcher, I explore how digital technologies transform meaning-making and identity formation, using feminist and post-humanist frameworks to understand media's role in shaping our shared reality.

I am currently developing manuscripts for publication and seeking faculty positions where I can teach digital storytelling, cultural communication, and media studies while continuing research at the intersection of dominant narratives and lived experience.