• PHIL 104. Introduction to Ethics

Courses taught elsewhere: Meaning of the Arts, Critical Thinking, Evil and Good, Environmental Ethics, Feminist Philosophy, Philosophical Ethics, Modern Philosophy, Logic and Legal Reasoning, Climate Ethics, Philosophy of the Good Life, Ethics of Inclusion.

• Doctor of Philosophy, Temple University, 2023.
• Graduate Certificates in Women and Gender Studies and Teaching in Higher Education.
• Master of Philosophy, Colorado State University, 2014.
• Bachelors of the Arts in Art and Philosophy, Manchester (nee College) University, 2011.

I have taught philosophy courses at Colorado State University, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University, Muhlenberg College, Bridgewater College, and James Madison University before arriving at SBU.

Publications

• “More than Humans: A case for the inclusion of non-human persons in care ethics.” Essays in Philosophy 24, no. 1 (2023): 86-101.
• “The Complexity of Play: A Response to Guyer’s Analysis of Play in Schiller’s Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man.” Play, Philosophy and Performance. Edited by Wendy Russell, Emily Ryall, and Malcolm McLean. New York: Routledge, 2021.

My current research centers on ethics and plants. I’m particularly interested in people who work with and are in relationship with plants. Recently, I have focused on relationships between carers and cared-fors in the contexts of tomato plants, giant sequoia trees, and bonsai and kusamono plants. In addition to examining care, I am fascinated by claims about plant capabilities and capacities that emerge from the sciences, plant carers, and the interdisciplinary humanities. I sort through these claims to make sense of what plants are and how they interact with their environments.

I am also interested in animal ethics (especially care ethics and veterinary ethics). My interest currently lies in the disparate contexts of wild animals (particularly migratory ones), companion animals, and farmed animals. As diseases (e.g., HPAI) spread rapidly, what are human ethical obligations to the animals we are in relation with?

In the public humanities sphere, I work with a collaborative group, Networking with Plants in the Anthropocene, as a steering committee member and showrunner of the Network’s Podcast. We work to bring plant issues to both the public and academy (e.g., the Traveling Medicine Bag panel at the Decolonization and Global Justice Conference in 2026).

Beyond the classroom, I enjoy spending time with my dog, cooking and baking (especially vegan faire), and fiber arts. I’m currently sourcing fiber from local farms, spinning with hand spindles, weaving, and quilting. I also enjoy learning about different bast fibers, plant dyes, and textile production techniques.

In my larger community, I’m the philosopher in residence for the Veterinary Association for Farm Animal Welfare.