I grew up visiting the Smithsonian museums so the opportunity to work at one of them was thrilling when I started in 2003. I have previously worked at the El Paso Museum of Art in El Paso, Texas and the Maryland Historical Society (now the Maryland Center for History and Culture) in Baltimore, Maryland. I received my MA in Museum Studies from George Washington University and completed my BA in American Studies and Afro-American Studies at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.