My public humanities practice connects art history with contemporary questions of culture, heritage, identity, and memory. For more than a decade, I have curated exhibitions and educational programs, organized interdisciplinary workshops, and collaborated with artists, educators, journalists, heritage professionals, and other diverse stakeholders across cultural institutions, international organizations, and local communities on four continents. As the inaugural fellow of the International Interfaith Research Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University, I have also explored the potential for K-12 education to address how historical narratives are mobilized in contemporary political and extremist discourses. This work arose from the Medievalist Toolkit, a public history project that I co-founded to change mainstream perceptions of misused medieval pasts, such as the Crusades, and make scholarship on these subjects accessible to the public. I was previously Director of Education and Outreach for the nonprofit ART WORKS Projects, and during my graduate studies, I held internships with the United Nations, UNESCO, Amnesty International, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, among other organizations. These projects reflect my commitment to developing scholarship in conversation with the wider world.
Co-Organized Events
-
Modern Extremism and the Medieval World, undergraduate research workshop with a keynote address from Sammy Rangel, Cornell University, April 21–22, 2023
-
History in a Time of Polarization: A Day of Conversation between Academic and Public-Facing Professionals, series of multidisciplinary discussion panels, Columbia University, March 20, 2022
- Medievalist Toolkit Working Session, symposium with medievalists, journalists, and social workers, Columbia University, April 28, 2018
Select Speaking Engagements
- “Forms of Infinity, Forms of Affinity,” The Gathering, Fondazione Querini Stampalia, May 8, 2026 and Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, September 18, 2026, Creative Australia and the Australia Pavilion of the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia
- “Uncovering Architectural Histories of Modern Mogadishu,” Hayaan Heritage Webinar, February 25, 2026
- Project Belonging Spring 2024 Mentor Panel, Teachers College, Columbia University, April 4, 2024
- “The Medievalist Toolkit: Building bridges between academics and public-facing professionals,” Community Outreach Workshop, Medieval Academy of America, April 18, 2023
- “Collaboration and the Future of Medieval Studies,” IUDC Medieval Symposium, Fordham University, April 8, 2022
- “Medievalist Toolkit: Rethinking outreach and medieval narratives,” Haskins Society Online Conference, Carleton College, November 1, 2020
- Multiple talks with Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows at Columbia University, Barnard College, and Northwestern University, 2017–present
Film & Media
- Associate Producer for the short film “Le Jardin d’Afrique: An interview with Rachid Koraïchi in the memorial garden and graveyard for migrants in Zarzis (Tunisia),” produced by Avinoam Shalem for Black Mediterranean – Artistic Encounters and Counter-narratives, a Getty Foundation Connecting Art Histories initiative (2024) [Link]
- Associate Producer for the short film “Women Mediating Peace,” produced by ART WORKS Projects for the United States Institute of Peace (2016) [Link]
Other experience
- Co-founder, The Medievalist Toolkit, 2017–present
- Rapporteur for the Public Humanities University Seminar: Expanding Scholarship and Pedagogy, Columbia University, 2022–24
- Co-author in Shephardson, Britton L. et al., “Terevaka Archaeological Outreach (TAO) 2016 field report: Exploring a new dimension,” Rapa Nui Journal 30, no. 2 (2016): 61–64. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/rnj.2016.0020.