Academic CV
EMPLOYMENT
Director, Children's Literature Program, San Diego State University, 2022-present
Director, National Center for the Study of Children's Literature, 2022-present
Assistant Professor, English and Comparative Literature, San Diego State University, 2021-present
Graduate Student Instructor, Performance Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 2014-2021
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EDUCATION
PhD in Performance Studies; Designated Emphasis in New Media, University of California, Berkeley
MA in Folklore, University of California, Berkeley
MFA in Writing, Sarah Lawrence College
BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, University of Miami
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PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
Brown, K., Daley, L., Hunt, D. “Disruptive Ruptures: The Necessity of Black/Girlhood Imaginary.” Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism 21.1 (2022): 75-100.
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"Coming of (R) age: A New Genre for Contemporary Narratives about Black Girlhood." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 46.4 (2021): 1035-1056.
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​​“When Diane Tells Me a Story.” Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism. (Forthcoming in 2023)
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INVITED TALKS
“Coming of (R)age,” University of California, Davis, April 7, 2023. Keynote Speaker.
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“Coming of (R)age,” Humanities Day, San Diego State University, March 21, 2023. Guest Speaker.
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“Race, Gender, and Representation: Black Girlhood,” Sonoma State University, Sonoma, CA, October 23, 2019
“The Sound of Ethnopoetics: The Tale of Brer Rabbit,” Folklore and Mythology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, February 4, 2018
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PRESENTATIONS
“Ain’t i a gurl: identity, feminism and ideology through the lens of Black/Girlhood Imaginary.” National Women’s Studies Association Conference, Minneapolis, MN; November 2022.
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“Chosen Kin: #Friendship Goals According to Nel and Sula in Toni Morrison’s Sula.” NEH Residential Summer Institute for High School Teachers, Boston University; July 2022. Invited presenter and workshop Leader.
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“Black Feminist (Auto)Ethnography: Zora Neale Hurston’s Mules and Men,” Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, October 21, 2020
“Breaking the Illustrated Color Line,” American Literature Association Conference, San Diego, CA, May 21-24, 2020 (Abstract accepted, conference canceled due to COVID-19)
“In Conversation with Savannah Shange,” Center for Race & Gender, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, February 20, 2020
“The Choreography of Black Girls in the City,” National Women’s Studies Association Conference, San Francisco, CA, November 14-17, 2019
“Black Girlhood Studies: Epistemologies and Methodologies,” Center for Race & Gender, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, October 10, 2019
“Coming of (R)age: a New Genre for Contemporary Narratives about Black Girlhood,” Department of Theater, Dancer, and Performance Studies, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, October 3, 2019
“Between Good and Ghetto: Ten Years Later,” Center for Race & Gender, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, February 28, 2019
“In Conversation with Aimee Cox, Center for Race & Gender, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, May 9, 2018
“Black/Girlhood Imaginary,” National Women’s Studies Association Conference, Baltimore, MD, November 16-19, 2017
“Black/Girlhood Imaginary,” Center for Race & Gender, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, November 9, 2017
“The Accredited Storyteller": How Academia is Professionalizing the Art of Storytelling,” National Storytelling Conference, Kansas City, MO, July 21-24, 2016
“Text, Texture, and Context: When Diane Ferlatte Embodies Brer Rabbit,” Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, September 24, 2015
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TEACHING INTERESTS
African American Children’s Literature, African American Folktales, Black Girlhood Studies, Black Feminist Research Methods, Choreographic Composition, Creative Writing, English Composition, Performance Studies, Modern Dance History, New Media
PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE
Dramaturg, Time of Change, Joe Goode Performance Group, 2020-2021
Co-director and Dramaturg, Turntables, Berkeley Dance Project, UC Berkeley, 2020-2021
Dancer, Earth Echoes by Cherie Hill, David Brower Center, Berkeley, CA 2020
Dancer, SheVerse by Cherie Hill, CounterPulse, San Francisco, CA 2019
Choreographer and Dancer, How We Play, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 2019
Dancer, Feel Don’t / Everything But, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2019
Dancer, Sevenfold, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2019
Choreographer, Will This Work?, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2018
Playwright and Producer, The Carter Sisters, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2017
Facilitator, The New Play Reading Series, 2017-2018
Dancer, Basura by josé a. nuño, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2016-2017
Writer and Performer, Eye of the Storm, UC Berkeley, CA, 2016
Writer, Performer, and Collaborator, Call & Response, UC Berkeley, CA, 2016
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HONORS, AWARDS, AND GRANTS
CAL Interdisciplinary Research Cluster, 2023-2024
CAL Excellence in Service Award, 2022-2023
Humanities in Action Grant, SDSU, Spring 2023
Humanities in Action Grant, SDSU, Fall 2021
UC Berkeley Dissertation Year Fellowship, 2021 (declined)
Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship, 2021 (declined)
The Peter Lyman Graduate Fellowship in new media, 2021
Emily Chamberlain Cook Prize in Poetry, 2020
Doctoral Completion Fellowship, 2018-2019
Summer Institute for Preparing Future Faculty Fellow, Summer 2018
Mark Goodson Prize for Distinguished Theatrical Talent, 2018
Center for Race & Gender Working Group Grant, 2017-2020
Foreign Language and Area Studies Grant, 2017-2018
Katherine Dunham Technique Seminar Fellow, Summer 2017
Berkeley Center for New Media Conference Grant, 2017
Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies Conference Grant, 2017
UC Berkeley Graduate Assembly Travel Grant, 2017
Gigs Mentorship Award, 2017
UC Berkeley Chancellor Fellow, 2015-2017
Callaloo Poetry Fellow, 2014
UC Berkeley Folklore Summer Research Grant, 2013
UC Berkeley Distinguished Graduate Fellow, 2012-2013
Sarah Lawrence College Graduate Gift, 2006-2008
University of Miami English Merit Grant, 2002-2003
Florida Bright Futures, 2001-2005
University of Miami Alumni Scholarship Award, 2001-2005
JFK/MLK Award, 2001-2005
LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE
Advisory Committee, English & Comparative Literature Department, 2022-present
Director, National Center for the Study of Children's Literature, 2022-present
Children's Literature Program Committee, 2021-present
IRSCL Congress Advisory Board Member, 2022-2023
Chapter510 Writing Mentor, Spring 2022
Special Programs Advisor, Oxnard Performing Arts Center Corporation, 2020
Graduate Representative to the Executive Committee, 2019-2021
Mentor, Getting in Graduate School (Gigs), 2016-2019
Board Member, Storytelling Association of California, 2015-2017
Graduate Student Admit Liaison, 2015-2016
Big Brothers and Big Sister of Southern Louisiana, 2010-2017
Delegate, Graduate Assembly, UC Berkeley, 2012-2013
State Member, AmeriCorps, 2008-2009
Co-President, Graduate Student Senate, Sarah Lawrence College, 2007-2008
Graduate Student Representative, Student Life, Sarah Lawrence College, 2007-2008
Fiction Editor, Lumina, Sarah Lawrence College, 2007-2008
Associate Fiction Editor, Lumina, Sarah Lawrence College, 2006-2007
Production Assistant, We, the Students, University of Miami, 2004
MEMBERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Modern Language Association, 2022-present
Southwest Popular/American Culture Association, 2022-present
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, 2020-present
National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity, 2019-present
National Women’s Studies Association, 2017-present
UC Berkeley Center for Race & Gender, 2017-2020
​Dance Studies Working Group, 2017-2019
Folklore Roundtable at UC Berkeley, 2012-2015