About Me

Stories are powerful, and they connect people in myriad ways. Having worked in the oral history field for twenty years, I’ve come to understand what a powerful tool oral history is. Through conducting oral histories I’ve had the opportunity to learn about not just history, but the individuals behind historical events. Through training community members, students, and volunteers on how to do oral history interviews, I’ve seen the enrichment oral history can bring, and through producing books, websites, and other content from oral histories, I’ve seen how it can connect people to not just history, but to organizations, communities, and movements.

I began my work in oral history in 2002 at the University of Nevada Oral History Program (UNOHP), eventually interviewing for a multi-year project on the history of women’s athletics at the University of Nevada. This project really sparked my interest in oral history interviewing, and resulted in the book We Were All Athletes: Title IX and Women’s Athletics at the University of Nevada.

In 2008 I joined the first cohort of students at Columbia University’s Oral History Master of Arts Program. From this experience, I went on to positions at the UNOHP (as its coordinator), the Stanford Historical Society, the Kentucky Oral History Commission (the only commission of its kind in the United States), and now as an independent oral historian based in Sacramento, California.

I served as the 2019-2020 President for the Oral History Association. I’m also a member of the Southwest Oral History Association. In addition to an M.A. in Oral History from Columbia University, I hold a B.A. in English Literature and Sociology from the University of Nevada. You can check out my full CV here.