I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. My research is focused on phonological typology and the sound change dynamics associated with the emergence and stability of complex and uncommon patterns, including highly complex syllable structure and glottalized consonants. I approach these issues within a diachronic typological framework using cross-linguistic synchronic and historical data on a global scale in order to compare source-oriented and result-oriented accounts for the distribution of sound patterns. I also conduct and supervise research investigating sound patterns in Micronesian languages, including Palauan and Woleaian, from a laboratory phonology approach.

At the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, I primarily teach core courses in phonology, typology, and language change. Within the Department of Linguistics, I also serve as the Undergraduate Chair, the Tuesday Seminar Series coordinator, and the faculty advisor for the Studies in Phonology (SIP) reading group. I served as a Co-chair of the 8th International Conference on Language Documentation & Conservation, and I am a member of the Diaspora Languages Project of Hawai’i (DLPHI) and a Co-PI on the associated NSF grant. I am also a Co-editor of the Topics in Phonological Diversity book series through Language Science Press, an Associate Editor of the journal Linguistic Typology, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Association for Linguistic Typology.

Education

PhD in Linguistics, 2017, University of New Mexico

MA in Linguistics, 2010, University of New Mexico

BS in Physics, 2004, University of Notre Dame