Throughout my career in higher education, my mission has been clear: to develop people. From classroom teaching and mentoring graduate students to leading multiple funded projects (totaling $5.3 million) on food safety, allergy prevention, and other training, I’ve championed the core mission of land-grant universities in research, education, and community engagement. At the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, I’ve expanded my focus to include sustainability education in hospitality and retail programs, while addressing campus food security and food security education with a multidisciplinary team.

Additionally, I’ve collaborated with hospitality and tourism leaders and state agencies like the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to address workforce shortages in Tennessee’s hospitality and tourism sector. My goal is to increase labor participation from underrepresented groups and prepare future leaders to shape the hospitality and tourism industry at local, national, and global levels.