I earned a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry at Ohio Wesleyan University (2001), and decided on a radical career change -- going to graduate school in history. After earning my MA from Kent State University (2003) and PhD from Purdue University (2008), I worked at the Hancock Historical Museum in Findlay, Ohio, as, at various times, the archivist, curator, and museum director.

I started at Southeast in 2012 and have served as the Director of the Center for Regional History, the Faculty Fellow for the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, and the Faculty Athletics Representative.

I am the author of three books. The first, titled Parading Patriotism, explored nineteenth-century Fourth of July celebrations. The second, Tall Tales and Short Shorts, described the National Basketball Association in the 1970s. And my third, published in 2024, is titled Kings of the Garden. This latest book looks at the intersection between professional basketball's New York Knicks and the city in which they play. Between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s, the Knicks became the NBA's first all-Black team while hip-hop music rose from blighted boroughs.