I hold an BA from the College of William and Mary and an MA and a PhD in Archaeological Studies from Boston University. Having been born in DC (but not raised here, I moved back after graduate school and have lived in Washington for the last 25 years. I currently teach for the Cultural Heritage Master's Program at Johns Hopkins University, which includes teach the annual intensive 2-week Seminar in DC. I worked for an international non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of archaeological and historic sites, buildings, and landscapes for 14 years, the last 3 as director of the organization - the United States National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). ICOMOS is based in Paris, the the US committee is based in DC.

I live in DC just 1 mile up the street from the White House and spend much of my spare time visiting DC's numerous museums and historic sites.