I am originally from Barrington, IL, a northwest suburb of

Chicago. My Chicago roots are evident by my love of windy city sports teams, my Midwestern twang (which has been diluted over the years), and my obsession with Baker’s Square Pie. Yum.

Much of my childhood was spent playing violin in the Suzuki Music School of Barrington under the musical influence of my mom, a piano teacher and former head of the school. I really enjoy music, so I go to lots of concerts and local shows.

Mini me,

circa 1989.

I care deeply about diversity and enhancing the participation of marginalized groups in the sciences at all levels. I am co-chair of the AAS Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy (CSMA), and I was Editor of the CSMA’s newsletter Spectrum from 2005-2015. I am a proud sponsor of the outstanding BlackinAstro, and I have served as chair of the OSU astronomy's diversity committee. I also lead the extension of the OSU Physics Masters-to-PhD Bridge Program to the astronomy department. I am active on twitter, where I post about astronomy, STEM representation, and life.

Me speaking at the White House on women in science, 2009