I am currently pursuing research related to the linguistic structure of African American English and related dialects. I am also interested in grammaticalization, language contact, variation and change.

New York University
Graduate School of Arts & Science, Department of Linguistics
Ph.D., Linguistics- expected May 2010
M.A., Linguistics. Thesis title: Determiner Allomorphy: Insight into Haitian Creole Syllable Structure

Universidad de Puerto Rico-Rio (Fall Semester 1999)

New York University Department of Linguistics Lewis Levine Prize 2008
Ford Dissertation Fellowship 2007-2008
New York City Teaching Fellow (Declined 2007)
Ford Predoctoral Fellowship 2004-2007
New York University Summer Predoctoral Fellowship 2004
New York University Fellowship 2001-2006
University of Minnesota President's Outstanding Scholar 1997-2001
University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts Honors Program  1997-2001
University of Minnesota Dean's list 1997-2001
College of Liberal Arts Scholar's List 1997-2001
Phi Beta Kappa 2000
Bill Gates Millennium Scholarship 2000
University of Minnesota President's Distinguished Faculty Mentor Participant 1997-1999
University of Minnesota Waller Scholar 1999
Golden Key Honor Society member 1999-present

"An AAE Camouflage Construction," (with Chris Collins and Paul Postal) in Language 84(1).29-68, 2008.
article

Teaching(University)

Fall 2008:Adjunct Lecturer, "Languages and Dialects in Cross-cultural Perspective," Anthropology Department, The City College of New York

Fall 2005: Teaching Assistant, "African American English,"Professor Renee Blake, Linguistics Department, New York University

Fall 2008: Teaching Assistant, "Language in Latin America,"Professor Gregory Guy, Department New York University

Fall 2003: Teaching Assistant, "African American Vernacular English,"Professor Renee Blake, Linguistics Department, New York University

April 2008-December 2008: Adult Basic Education Instructor, Queen's Library for Teens, Far Rockaway, NY

October 2003-May 2004: Instructor, Daddy's House Social Program, New York,Courses: Remedial and Intermediate English; expository writing

September 2002-December 2003;January 2005-May 2005:Instructor, St.George Academy,New York, NY Courses:French I, French II, and French III

January 2001-May 2001:Instructor, Minnesota English Learning Center
Course:Intermediate ESL

June 2005-August 2005:Legal Assistant, Law office of Joseph Fleming, Esq., P.C., New York, NY

May 2005-June 2005:Fundraising, New York University Phonathon, New York, NY

November 2004-December 2004:Academic Tutor, University of Texas Athletics, University of Texas, Austin, TX

1998-2001:Office Assistant, African American Learning Resource Center, University of Minnesota,Minneapolis,MN

1997-1998:Tutor, America Reads,St. Paul,

1998:Mentor, College Bound Program,St. Paul, MN

Sept 2004-December 2004:Visiting researcher at the University of Texas-Austin

June 2000-2001:MacArthur Interdisciplinary Program on Peace and International Cooperation, University of Minnesota,Minneapolis,MN

June 1999-August 1999:Minnesota Among Nations Research-Abroad Program in Cap-Haitien,Haiti

May 2000:"Indigenous Component of Contemporary Rural Mexican Society," Babelia Spanish,Tepoztlan, Mexico

November 14, 2008: Annual meeting, American Dialect Society session of the 50th Annual Midwest Modern Language Association Convention
Title: Setting the parameters of African American English in Southeast Georgia Communities where Gullah is also Spoken
abstract

November 12, 2006: Annual meeting, New Ways of Analyzing Variation (NWAV) 35
Title:Something in the "Urr": Vowel Centralization before /r/ in two AAE Dialects
Co-Presenters:Renee Blake, Sonya Fix, and Cara Shousterman

April 7-9, 2005Southeastern Conference on Linguistics(SECOL) LXXII
Title:On negation in multiple modal constructions in AAE

February 11, 2005: Fitigra Conference in Leuven, Belgium: From Ideational to Interpersonal: Perspectives from Grammaticalization
From abstract to abstract:On the pragmatic strengthening of Go in AAE
abstract

October 2, 2004: New Ways of Analyzing Variation (NWAV) 33
Title:Gone back: What future tense markers in AAE tell us about past-occurring events
abstract

August 13, 2004: Creole Conference Curacao 2004: Joint meeting of the Society for
Caribbean Linguistics (SCL), the Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics(SPCL), and the Associacao: Crioulosde Base Lexical Portuguesa e Espanhola(ACBLPE).
Title:Determiner Allomorphy: insight into Haitian Creole syllable structure

March 28, 2004: Georgetown University Roundtable on Languages and Linguistics (GURT):Member of Panel Discussion on Methodological Issues in the Study of English Dialects

March 27, 2004:Georgetown University Roundtable on Languages and Linguistics (GURT): Comparative and Cross-Linguistic Research in Syntax, Semantics, and Computational Linguistics.
Title:On Negation in Double Modal Constructions
abstract

April 18, 2003: Graduate Students of Color Network Research Colloquium.New York University.
Title:Definite Article Allomorphy: Insight into Haitian Creole Syllable Structure

July 27, 2001:MacArthur Honors Program for International Studies Research Colloquium.University of Minnesota.
Title:The Politics Behind Language in Haiti: Creole Development and the Quest for Liberation

July 21, 2000: Honors Program for International Studies Colloquium.University of Minnesota.
Title:Changing Ideology to Foster Equality:U.S.Foreign Policy in the Caribbean

Title:Go: Expanding the AAE TMA System

Title:On Negation in Double Modal Constructions

Title:Definite Article Allomorphy: Insight into Haitian Creole Syllable Structure

Spanish: fluent
French: fluent
Haitian Creole: fluent
Brazilian Portuguese: partially fluent

January 2006 present: FHED, Inc.
(President & CEO, October 2006-present); (Director of Education, January 2006-October 2006)
April 2003-present: Linguistic Society of America (LSA)
August 2002-present Society for Caribbean Linguistics (SCL)
September 2001-present: Linguistics Association at New York University (LANYU)
(Treasurer, 2002-2003)
September 2001-present: Graduate Students of Color Network (GSCN) at NYU
(Vice-Chair,2003-2004); (Social Chair, Spring 2005); (Treasurer, Fall 2005)

Hobbies: singing, writing short stories, traveling
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