EDUCATION 

PhD, English, City University of New York Graduate Center, 2015
MLIS, Queens College, CUNY, 2019
BA, Concentration in the Politics of Media, The Gallatin School at New York University, 2002, summa cum laude

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATES

Teaching the History of the Book, Rare Book School, 2019
The Illustrated Scientific Book to 1800, Rare Book School, 2018
Large-Scale Digital Project Aggregation with ARC and Collex, Digital Humanities Summer Institute, 2014

PUBLICATIONS

Refereed Articles and Book Chapter

“Sensitive Plants and Senseless Weeds: Plants, Consciousness, and Elizabeth Kent.” Forthcoming in Essays in Romanticism.

“New Tales of Botanical Friendship: Contesting Cockney Values in a Newly Recovered Work by Elizabeth Kent.” Forthcoming in Studies in Romanticism.

“Beyond Academic Twitter: Social Media and the Evolution of Scholarly Publication.” Hybrid Pedagogy. July 2016. 

“Percy Bysshe Shelley and the Ekphrasis of Hair.” European Romantic Review 24.2 (April 2013): 231-250.

“The Child of the City and the Palimpsest at Sea: De Quincey’s Chronological Constraints.” Literature Compass 9.10 (Oct. 2012): 679-693. 

 “Ghosts in the House: Margaret Oliphant’s Uncanny Response to Feminist Success.” Antifeminism and the Victorian Novel. Ed. Tamara Wagner. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2009.

Edited Volume

Co-Editor and Introduction, with Stephen Klein. The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy 4 (December 2013).

Shorter Pieces

“This Week in Digital Humanities and Pedagogy: Celebrating Five Years of The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy.” The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy (July 1, 2015).

“This Week in Digital Humanities and Pedagogy: A Message in a Bottle.” The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy (April 14, 2015).

Works in Progress

Flora Domestica. Digital scholarly edition in progress. 

AWARDS AND HONORS 

Rare Book School Directors’ Scholarship, 2018
Council on Library and Information Resources Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2015-2016
The English Program Prize for Distinguished Work in Romanticism, CUNY, 2015
Presidential Research Fellowship, CUNY, 2014-2015
NASSR Graduate Student Travel Bursary, 2014
Digital Humanities Summer Institute Tuition Scholarship, 2014
Alumni and Faculty Dissertation Year Fellowship, CUNY, 2012-2013
Enhanced Chancellor’s Fellowship, CUNY, 2007-2012
Conference Presentation Support Grant, CUNY, 2011 and 2013
Grand Prize in McSweeney’s writing contest, 2006
Presidential Honors Scholar, NYU, 1998-2002
Rubin Award for Poetry, Gallatin, 2001
National Arts Foundation Award, 1998

CONFERENCES AND PRESENTATIONS

Conferences Organized

THATCamp North Country: Digital Stories. Canton, NY. March 10-11, 2016.
The Digital University. New York, NY. April 21, 2010.
Projection: Speculating on Presence, Absence, and Nonsense. The English Student Association of the Graduate Center at CUNY Annual Conference. New York, NY. March 6, 2009.

Papers Presented and Panels Chaired

“Rewriting the Canon: Cultivating Student Creativity in the Classroom.” MLA. Seattle, WA. January 9-12, 2020. 

“Plant Thinking and Posthuman Affect.” Mount Holyoke College. April 3, 2019. Invited.

“Sensitive Plants and Senseless Weeds: Plants and Consciousness in Flora Domestica.” MLA. Chicago, IL. January 3-6, 2019. 

“Reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.” The Morgan Library & Museum. October 17, 2018. Invited.

“The Intimacy of the Unknown: Recovering Thomas Brown.” MLA. Philadelphia, PA. January 5-8, 2017.

“Elizabeth Kent’s Lost Tales, Found.” North American Society for the Study of Romanticism. Berkeley, CA. August 11-14, 2016.

Roundtable participant. “How and Why Does the Geneva Summer Still Matter?” Keats-Shelley Association of America Symposium: The Geneva Summer. New York, NY. May 21, 2016. Invited.

Moderator. “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.” Session featuring Anne Mellor and Jerrold E. Hogle. Keats-Shelley Association of America Symposium: The Geneva Summer. New York, NY. May 21, 2016. Invited. 

“Developing and Managing Your Academic & Professional Digital Identity.” St. Lawrence University Center for Teaching and Learning. Canton, NY. February 23, 2016.

“Becoming Ephemera.” International Conference on Romanticism. Park City, UT. October 14-17, 2015.

“Romantic Touch: Tactility and Sociability in British Romanticism.” University of South Dakota. Vermillion, SD. January 22, 2015. Invited. 

“Disorganizing Time: Waiting in The Iron Chest.” North American Society for the Study of Romanticism. Washington, DC. July 9-13, 2014.

“Silence and Stillness in Caleb Williams.” North American Society for the Study of Romanticism. Boston, MA. August 8-11, 2013. 

“Romantic Hair.” The Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle, New York Public Library, New York, NY. April 25, 2012. Invited.

“Shelley’s Hairy Revolution.” International Conference on Romanticism. Montreal, QC. November 3-5, 2011.

“Archival Apocalypse in Atwood’s MaddAddam Trilogy.” Society for Utopian Studies. State College, PA. October 20-23, 2011.

“‘The Ruins of Mankind’: Coleridge’s Imperial Imagination.” MLA. Los Angeles, CA. January 9, 2011.

“Smoking Mirrors and Human Skulls: Coleridge’s Mexican Metaphor.” North American Society for the Study of Romanticism. Vancouver, BC. August 18-22, 2010.

“The Architecture of Urban Childhood in Thomas De Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium Eater.” International Conference on Romanticism. New York, NY. November 6, 2009.

“‘What a World We Make’: Imagining Kantian Dystopia in Shelley’s The Cenci.” Affect, Mood, Feeling: 1748-1819. London, ON. April 26, 2009.

“Ghosts in the House: Margaret Oliphant’s Uncanny Response to Feminist Success.” Society for Utopian Studies. Portland, ME. November 1, 2008. 

PROJECTS 

Digital Literacy and OER Fellowship
http://diglitfellowship.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/
In the inaugural year of this fellowship, eleven Queens College faculty members from nine departments participate in a semester-long seminar and workshop series culminating in the development of complete zero-textbook-cost courses that will be made available for re-use through CUNY Academic Commons. This program is designed to foster a broad theoretical understanding of the principles of digital literacy and open educational resources through a structured series of readings and discussions, and to facilitate the development of practical skills through workshops led by Leila Walker and Nick Normal as well as invited guests including Andrew McKinney, Amy Wolfe, and Rob Garfield. Fellows are supported in their progress through a series of scaffolded assignments, one-on-one consultations with Leila Walker, and a curated guide to open educational resources and digital tools. Ultimately, this program benefits Queens College students by reducing the financial burden of expensive textbooks and by integrating digital literacy skills across the disciplines.

Rewriting The Tempest
http://leilawalker.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/category/student-projects/rewriting-the-tempest/
As an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Queens College, I strive to engage students across the disciplines by inviting them to compose critical responses to texts using words and other media. This gallery showcases student projects that demonstrate their successful ability to adapt critical writing skills—such as close reading, collaborating, applying a postcolonial lens, reading in historical context, developing a line of reasoning, using consistent imagery to support cohesive focus, and supporting a thesis with textual evidence—to forms other than the college essay. 

Writing at Queens
http://writingatqueens.qc.cuny.edu/
As the Digital Pedagogy Coordinator for Writing at Queens, I am responsible for revamping and simplifying the WaQ website to make our pedagogical resources more readily available to Queens College faculty and students. I am in the process of building on the collection of sample assignments and lesson plans developed over the years by Kevin Ferguson, the Digital Fellows, and the Writing Fellows. By the end of the year, I expect to be able to update our handbook for student writers with new documents to help students write successfully in digital environments.

“Crossing Boundaries: Re-envisioning Humanities for the 21st Century”
http://www.stlawu.edu/mellon-humanities-grant
This Mellon-funded grant project supported cross-disciplinary digital scholarship at St. Lawrence University. I joined the project as a Council on Library and Information Resources Postdoctoral Fellow and the Assistant Director of the grant. In that capacity, I supported the planning, development, and implementation of projects that wove together literary research, geospatial mapping, community building, and student engagement in a digital environment. I also spearheaded the Digital Initiatives Faculty Fellowship, a two-semester competitive, funded program that introduced faculty to the fundamentals of digital scholarship through a seminar series while supporting practical application with one-on-one pedagogical and project support. 

The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy
jitpedagogy.org
As a founding member of The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, I collaborated with Claire Fontaine to develop the first iteration of the journal’s website and submission management system using Open Journal System. As managing editor, I ensured that the journal continued to adapt to the demands of our authors and editorial collective. Under my leadership, the journal developed accessibility standards, expanded engagement beyond CUNY, challenged the colonialist framework of the digital humanities, published emerging digital scholarship, and furthered the scholarship of digital pedagogy.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Queens College 2018-present
Emerging Technologies and Digital Scholarship Librarian

• Administer $100,000 grant to develop open educational resources at Queens College
• Lead eleven faculty fellows from nine departments in a seminar to develop open educational resources according to accepted professional standards
• Serve as library liaison to the Departments of English, Comparative Literature, and Theater, Dance, and Drama
• Manage collection development for four departments with a total budget of $9,550
• Develop and implement assessment standards for digital projects, including accessibility, metadata, licensing, and review
• Provide training in digital tools both within the library and across campus, both in person and through online guides
• Collaborate with Archivist, content specialists, faculty, and students to produce physical and digital exhibits
• Teach 35 library instruction sessions for undergraduate classes
• Collaborate with the Center for Teaching and Learning to identify, develop, implement, and assess new technology that supports the digital scholarship of Queens College faculty and students
• Collaborate with Archivist and Outreach Librarian to develop workshops, programs, and pedagogical tools to incorporate archival materials into classroom activities

Shelley and his Circle 2012-2018
Research Associate

• Worked with editors to produce the final two volumes of the twelve-volume publication Shelley and his Circle, privately funded by the Pforzheimer Foundation 
• Performed original archival research related to manuscript materials held in the Pforzheimer Collection at the New York Public Library
• Wrote and checked descriptive bibliographies for manuscript materials
• Wrote and fact-checked explanatory commentary related to manuscript materials that will be published in Shelley and his Circle
• Provided research assistance to visiting scholars

The Morgan Library & Museum 2017-2018
Content Consultant, “It’s Alive: Frankenstein at 200”

• Collaborated with Manager of Education Programs and curriculum consultant to develop an online curriculum to accompany a major exhibit
• Provided content expertise to explain key objects and concepts to a targeted audience
• Selected relevant excerpts from contemporary literature to contextualize exhibit objects

Queens College 2016-2018
Adjunct Assistant Professor, English

• Taught eight undergraduate courses on English composition and literature
• Collaborated with full-time faculty and graduate assistants to develop an online resource for teaching and learning writing at Queens College
• Consulted on pedagogical initiatives for digital writing

St. Lawrence University 2015-2016
CLIR Postdoctoral Fellow

• Administered $500,000 Mellon-funded grant to promote interdisciplinary digital scholarship
• Served as the liaison between the library and academic departments
• Consulted on and provided support for digital projects rooted in community and archival research
• Taught undergraduate course linking archival research to digital production
• Taught and organized workshops, forums, and tutorials in digital technologies for students, faculty, and library staff
• Spearheaded the Digital Initiatives Faculty Fellowship program in conjunction with the Library and IT division’s Digital Initiatives Group

The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy 2014-2015
Managing Editor

• Produced an innovative, peer-reviewed journal promoting open scholarly discourse around critical and creative uses of digital technology in teaching, learning, and research
• Published an open-access online journal built on open-source principles using open-source tools including Academic Commons and Open Journal Systems
• Managed an editorial team of twenty students, faculty, and staff from a variety of disciplines and institutions
• Oversaw editorial and production schedules for two peer-reviewed issues annually and ongoing short-form content throughout the year
• Developed new tools for digital publication in collaboration with authors, editors, and technology specialists

The City University of New York Graduate Center 2010-2014
Assistant Program Officer, Interactive Technology and Pedagogy Certificate Program

• Managed all administrative and technical tasks related to this innovative, interdisciplinary program, including course scheduling and registration, maintaining student records and tracking student progress, and managing the departmental budget
• Built a digital archive showcasing students’ final projects
• Collaborated on grant proposals
• Built course websites and discussion groups in WordPress, in conversation with faculty, to meet their desired learning outcomes
• Developed and maintained the program’s online presence
• Recruited visiting faculty and developed their relationships to the program and students
• Organized digital skills workshops to complement our students’ coursework
• Developed new strategies to increase student enrollment and promote student success and retention
• Organized the 2010 Digital University Conference in collaboration with faculty

Lehman College 2008-2011
Graduate Teaching Fellow, English Department

• Taught nine undergraduate courses on writing and English literature

Facts On File, Inc. 1999-2006
Assistant Editor

• Managed a team of freelance writers, researchers, and editors to produce and maintain online reference databases designed for use in high school and college curricula
• Managed relational database to organize, link, and index content and metadata
• Researched and acquired primary sources and multimedia content
• Commissioned critical commentary by leading scholars

SERVICE

Service to the Library

Instruction Coordinator, Queens College Libraries, 2019-present
Resource Development Committee, Queens College Libraries, 2018-present
Head of Makerspace Search Committee, 2019

Service to the College

Queens College Faculty and Student Disciplinary Committee, Title IX Subcommittee, 2019-present
Wiki-Women’s Edit-a-Thon, Queens College, Co-organizer, 2017

Service to the University

Queens College Representative to LILAC (Library Information Literacy Advisory Committee), 2019-present
Queens College Delegate to LACUNY, 2019-present
LACUNY Digital Initiatives Roundtable, Member, 2019-present
LACUNY Scholarly Communications Roundtable, Member, 2018-present

Service to the Profession and Community

Urban Library Journal, Co-editor, 2019-present
Keats-Shelley Association of America, Outreach Committee, 2018-present
Digital Humanities Quarterly, Peer Reviewer, 2014-present
Interference Archive, Volunteer Cataloger, 2016
Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon (Canton, NY), Co-organizer, 2016
#tooFEW Feminists Engage Wikipedia, 2013
Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, Editorial Collective, 2010-2015
CUNY Romanticism Group, Founder and Co-organizer, 2009-2013
English Student Association, Admissions and Financial Aid Committee, 2012-2013
Digital Humanities Post-Doctoral Fellowship Search, Search Coordinator, 2012
English Student Association, Placement Committee, 2011-2012
The Digital University, Conference Co-organizer, 2010
English Student Association Conference Projection, Conference Co-organizer, 2009 

ACADEMIC AFFILIATIONS

American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries, The Keats-Shelley Association of America, Modern Language Association, North American Society for the Study of Romanticism

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Academic Commons, ArcGIS, AutoCAD, BASIC, Collective Access, CSS, data visualization, database design, digitization, Drupal, FileMaker, Google Drive, HTML, Leaflet, Microsoft Office Suite, n-grams, OCLC, Omeka, Open Journal System, Oxygen, Photoshop, R Studio, SketchUp, StoryMapping, TimelineJS, wikis and Wikipedia, WordPress, xml/tei

LANGUAGES

English: native fluency
French: reading and basic conversation
Spanish: reading and basic conversation
Italian: basic reading