Experience

American Brain Foundation

• United States
• Fundraising
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Senior Manager, Research Programs & Partnerships

  • Jan 2022 - Present

  I lead the American Brain Foundation's research grant programs and institutional fundraising efforts, including grant and award management and program evaluation, budget development, grant writing, and leadership volunteer management.

• Grant Writing and Program Manager

  • Nov 2019 - Jan 2022

  I manage both sides of the ABF's work, from engaging partners and institutional donors in the Foundation's mission to cure brain diseases and disorders, to overseeing the ABF's research grant programs.



Newberry Library

• United States
• Libraries
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Instructor

  • Jul 2021 - Aug 2021

  I designed and taught a synchronous virtual adult education seminar, “On Death’s Doorstep: Italy After the Black Death,” for 18 students. The six-session seminar explored the social and cultural implications of the plague of 1348 – the Black Death – in Italy using written sources, material culture, and virtual "field trips" with innovative new digital tools including the Florence As It Was project and the DECIMA project. I designed and taught a synchronous virtual adult education seminar, “On Death’s Doorstep: Italy After the Black Death,” for 18 students. The six-session seminar explored the social and cultural implications of the plague of 1348 – the Black Death – in Italy using written sources, material culture, and virtual "field trips" with innovative new digital tools including the Florence As It Was project and the DECIMA project.



Fox Advancement

• United States
• Fundraising
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Senior Managing Associate - Grants Strategist

  • Jul 2018 - Nov 2019

  I consulted with a variety of Twin Cities and regional Minnesota nonprofits to develop winning grant applications for funding from state and federal agencies, private organizations, and corporate foundations. I also provided strategic review and assistance to organizations looking to build and strengthen their grant development processes, and worked within the firm to develop processes around social media, marketing, and internal operations. I consulted with a variety of Twin Cities and regional Minnesota nonprofits to develop winning grant applications for funding from state and federal agencies, private organizations, and corporate foundations. I also provided strategic review and assistance to organizations looking to build and strengthen their grant development processes, and worked within the firm to develop processes around social media, marketing, and internal operations.



Northwestern University

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• PhD Candidate

  • Jun 2012 - Jul 2018

  Picture Indiana Jones, but better dressed. I brave the surly bureaucrats and general disorganization of the Italian archives to track down six-hundred-year-old records from a 900-year-old church written in a language that's been dead since 600 CE. When I'm able to find what I'm looking for, I put the pieces together to tell a story about boring saints and their "holy mediocrity" in a way that does justice to the past and enlightens the present.

• Mellon COSI Administrative Coordinator

  • Nov 2014 - Mar 2015

  I once spit on an original Rembrandt painting. It was for science. Using my background in art conservation, I helped grad students in art history brush up on best practices in art preservation by writing guides for research in the conservation of modern art.

• Teaching Assistant

  • Sep 2010 - Dec 2014

  The hardest job I've ever had, and where I learned that the most about educational engagement and learning. I taught undergrads about medieval and Early Modern European history, Tokugawa Japan, ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, and Philosophy (did I mention I've never taken a philosophy class?).



Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation

• United States
• Artists and Writers
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Director of Spanish Colonial Art

  • Oct 2016 - May 2017

  I oversaw the six-figure budget and strategic plan for the Thoma Foundation's exemplary collection of Spanish colonial art, including grants and artwork loans to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Blanton Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Huntington Library, and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Even though historical paintings are tougher than they look they still need TLC, and I worked with conservators and framers to ensure they looked their best.

• Communications and Grants Manager

  • Jun 2015 - May 2017

  Combine a non-profit with a startup and you get somewhere near the realm of what I did at the Thoma Foundation: building systems to create bedrock for the Foundation's long-term future. Strategic planning, marketing, web and social media, and PR were all under my umbrella as tools to share the news of the Foundation's art collection, exhibitions, and grants to organizations and individuals.



Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

• United States
• Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Temporary Individual Giving Assistant

  • Mar 2015 - Jun 2015

  After interning at the MCA in the fall of 2014, I came back a few months later to back to help battle the two-headed dragon of development—communications and marketing—by writing thoughtful and engaging newsletters, emails, and MailChimp campaigns to our members and donors, all while wearing arty outfits. After interning at the MCA in the fall of 2014, I came back a few months later to back to help battle the two-headed dragon of development—communications and marketing—by writing thoughtful and engaging newsletters, emails, and MailChimp campaigns to our members and donors, all while wearing arty outfits.



Newberry Library

• United States
• Libraries
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Contributing Editor

  • Sep 2014 - Jun 2015

  I was invited to organize and chair three panels of speakers for the Newberry's annual graduate student conference, and, in collaboration with a team of nine, edited the online proceedings publication, Newberry Essays in Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Volume 9, (2015).The conference proceedings are available online at https://www.newberry.org/sites/default/files/textpage-attachments/2015Proceedings.pdf I was invited to organize and chair three panels of speakers for the Newberry's annual graduate student conference, and, in collaboration with a team of nine, edited the online proceedings publication, Newberry Essays in Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Volume 9, (2015).The conference proceedings are available online at https://www.newberry.org/sites/default/files/textpage-attachments/2015Proceedings.pdf



Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

• United States
• Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Development Intern

  • Sep 2014 - Dec 2014

  At the MCA I learned that Isa Genzken isn’t a new restaurant in River North, that financial reports are only boring if they’re badly written, and wrote a lot of emails to convince donors that David Bowie Is Art. I also stamped about 5,000 envelopes and got a crash-course in fundraising in the process. At the MCA I learned that Isa Genzken isn’t a new restaurant in River North, that financial reports are only boring if they’re badly written, and wrote a lot of emails to convince donors that David Bowie Is Art. I also stamped about 5,000 envelopes and got a crash-course in fundraising in the process.



Kimbell Art Museum

• Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Curatorial Intern

  • Jun 2013 - Sep 2013

  The Kimbell was where I fell in love with art so it was a dream come true to get to work here for a summer in the months leading up to the opening of the Renzo Piano pavilion. I wrote docent guides for the new building and the "Age of Picasso and Matisse" exhibit, designed the film and speaker series for "Samurai!", and researched artists, paintings, and sources for an exhibition on families in the Renaissance. The Kimbell was where I fell in love with art so it was a dream come true to get to work here for a summer in the months leading up to the opening of the Renzo Piano pavilion. I wrote docent guides for the new building and the "Age of Picasso and Matisse" exhibit, designed the film and speaker series for "Samurai!", and researched artists, paintings, and sources for an exhibition on families in the Renaissance.



Washington and Lee University

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Collections Intern, Reeves Center

  • Sep 2005 - Dec 2007

  Did you know that an SLAC in rural Virginia owns the second largest collection of Chinese Export Armorial porcelain in the US? Neither did I until I worked here. The Reeves Center gave me a crash course in art handling and registration, interpretative writing, and designing and leading tours. I also assisted with the redesign of the University Museums, foregrounding the university’s pedagogical mission. Did you know that an SLAC in rural Virginia owns the second largest collection of Chinese Export Armorial porcelain in the US? Neither did I until I worked here. The Reeves Center gave me a crash course in art handling and registration, interpretative writing, and designing and leading tours. I also assisted with the redesign of the University Museums, foregrounding the university’s pedagogical mission.