While I was born in Minneapolis, I have moved around quite a bit. I have also lived in New York, Virginia, and Arizona. However, most of my life has been spent in California where I grew up; we lived in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and I moved to San Diego when I went to college. The West Coast is where I go to see my family members who now live in California, Oregon, and Washington.

I received a B.S. in Biology from San Diego State University and a M.F.A. in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Arizona. My dissertation is concerned with the way contemporary theories of rhetoric are illustrated in the novels of Don DeLillo and how DeLillo's work can be used in composition classes to allow students a greater sense for the way language affects us.

Since coming to UCF, I have been interested in theories of technical communication and electronic texts that are found on the Internet. I am also interested in modern rhetorical theory, environmental rhetoric, and how contemporary science and politics are perceived in our culture. Everything I do in my scholarly work comes down to how writing and discourse are informed by rhetoric and the manner in which the organization and expression of information persuades and conveys meaning. In my career I have taught an array of writing and literature courses that include expository writing, creative writing, writing about literature, technical writing, professional writing, writing about the literature of science and technology, and I have worked extensively in minority enrichment programs. I also teach in the UCF graduate program in Technical Writing and our Ph.D. program in Texts and Technology. Before going to graduate school in Arizona, I taught adult education classes to U.S. Navy and Marine personnel in the greater San Diego area.