I am delighted to have joined the Department of Religious Studies this past fall as Assistant Professor of Instruction, following several years as a Visiting Assistant Professor. While this appointment is new, my relationship with the department is long-standing. I have been part of Religious Studies at the University of Iowa since beginning my PhD studies in 2010. My scholarly work focuses on contemporary and historical American religions, particularly at their intersections with American popular culture, though my teaching spans a wide range of topics—from medieval Christianity to horror films.

Beyond the classroom, I have been actively engaged in student recruitment and in developing experiential, community-building programming for the department. Working closely with an energetic group of undergraduate majors and minors on the department’s Steering Committee, I have helped design outings and events that invite students to encounter religion as a lived, public, and social phenomenon. Among these initiatives is an annual walking lecture at Oakland Cemetery, where students learn how to read cemeteries and explore relationships between the living and the dead, an event that has attracted local media attention in print, radio, and television.

I have also organized a bus tour introducing students to the Amish and Mennonite community in Kalona, and led the ChurchCrawl, which provides students with a guided and respectful opportunity to observe the diversity of religious life in Iowa City. Past visits have included St. Mary’s Catholic Church, St. Raphael Orthodox Church, Bethel AME Church, Agudas Achim Synagogue, and a Quaker meeting, among others. Most recently, I organized the Small Bites lecture series, which brought together faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates for short, accessible talks on food and religion, a shared snack, and donations collected for Shelter House. Across my teaching and programming, my goal is to cultivate curiosity, foster community, and encourage students to engage thoughtfully with religion both on campus and beyond.