Education
B.S. in Hotel and Restaurant Management, M.S. in Hospitality Management, Ph.D. in Hospitality Administration, University of Houston. CHE.

Expertise & Research Interests

• Food Safety
• Training and Development for Novice Learners
• Food Safety Knowledge and Behavior Assessments
• Public Health Disparities

Career Highlights
A “first-time-in-college” student, earned the accolade of being the first Hilton College graduate to complete degrees at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels; gained nearly five years of experience as a health inspector before pursuing a doctoral education; research focus is on food safety but, specifically, food safety training and delivery for low-literacy and underrepresented individuals; taught food safety, revenue management, and management principles at the undergraduate level at the University of Houston Hilton College; conducted research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Hilton College’s food microbiology lab to explore whether the layout at farmers’ markets affect microbial cross contamination; recipient of numerous competitive scholarships and research funds by the USDA and other external agencies to pursue food safety related research; author and co-author of more than 15 peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings/presentations; presented research at several prestigious conferences, including the International Association for Food Protection Conference, Consumer Food Safety Education Conference; International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education Conference, Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management National Conference, Child and Adult Care Food Program Conference, and the Annual Graduate Education & Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality & Tourism.