Portfolio
I’m a PhD biologist who’s spent the last decade doing the same job in a lot of different rooms: taking material that’s dense, technical, or emotionally loaded, and building the version of it that actually reaches the person in front of me. This portfolio is organized by the kind of work involved — instructional design, science communication, policy writing, and the digital platforms that carry it all — but the throughline is the same across every section. Explore the area most relevant to you, or read through all four to see the full picture.
Translating complex systems, managing cognitive load, and building evidence-based learning experiences.
My work as an instructional designer is grounded in a simple core philosophy: understand where people actually are, and build the path forward from there together. Whether translating dense federal policy for international scholars, guiding learners through deeply intimidating scientific concepts, or architecting scalable STEM curricula, I design high-impact learning experiences that manage cognitive load, foster psychological safety, and deliver measurable outcomes.
Case Study 1: Policy & Technical Translation
Featured Project: A Crash Course in Congress (Training)
Role: Lead Instructional Designer & Content Developer
Target Audience: Graduate Student Advocates (including International & Multi-Disciplinary Scholars)
Format: Interactive Presentation Deck & Visual Scaffolding Framework
The Challenge
Graduate students entering legislative advocacy come from vastly different academic and cultural backgrounds. Many are international students with zero prior exposure to U.S. governance structures, while others have specialized technical/STEM backgrounds with little time to decipher complex policy jargon. The objective was to build a low-friction training module that brings every learner from square one to actionable advocacy without overwhelming them.
Instructional & Design Strategy
- Intentional Scaffolding: Designed a progressive learning arc starting with fundamental civic structures (“How Government Works”) before escalating to intricate federal funding mechanisms and state vs. federal advocacy distinctions.
- Pacing & Cognitive Load Control: Utilized sequential visual animations across each slide to chunk information into digestible pieces, ensuring complex policy pathways are revealed step-by-step rather than dumped all at once.
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Accounted for international learners and diverse background knowledge by stripping away insular political acronyms, defining terminology in context, and establishing intuitive visual metaphors.
The Impact
Deployed across national graduate student advocacy networks, allowing participants of all background knowledge levels to confidently navigate congressional visits, understand appropriations pipelines, and engage directly in federal and state advocacy efforts.
Case Study 2: Empathy, Change Management & Facilitation
Featured Project: Evolution: What It Is and Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of It (Seminar)
Role: Instructional Designer, Curriculum Developer & Presenter
Target Audience: General Public, Higher Education Learners, and Skeptical / Multi-Belief Audiences
Format: Interactive Seminar, later developed into University Course
The Challenge & Context
Learners entering evolutionary biology often bring deep-seated cognitive dissonance, personal identity stakes, and fear of ideological conflict. Traditional instructional models treat resistance as a knowledge deficit—dumping more facts onto the learner. This approach heightens anxiety and triggers defensive rejection. Having personally navigated this transition, I designed this seminar to address the emotional and cognitive entry point of the learner first.
Instructional & Design Strategy
- Empathetic Needs Analysis & Diagnostic Design: Grounded the curriculum in cognitive dissonance research and real learner fears. Instead of treating audience skepticism as an obstacle to correct, mapped out the specific personal, cultural, and conceptual hurdles learners face before introducing technical biology.
- Scaffolding for Psychological Safety & Resistance: Designed a non-antagonistic learning arc that systematically dismantled common misconceptions (such as a perceived conflict between science and faith) upfront. Created a low-stakes environment where learners could engage without feeling their identity, values, or personal background were under attack.
- Cross-Disciplinary Translation: Co-designed and co-taught an interdepartmental university course bridging Biology and Philosophy. Developed a shared lexicon and structured dialogue models across disciplines that rarely use the same language.
- Community-Scale Adaptation: Adapted the core instructional framework across radically different delivery channels—translating the experience seamlessly from academic classrooms to local ministry alliances, radio programming, and public workshops.
The Impact
The seminar proved so effective at bridging divides that it was co-hosted as a weekly radio program, delivered to regional ministry alliances, and incorporated into a co-designed undergraduate course at the University of Kentucky.
This project is also central to my science communication work — see it discussed from a public-engagement lens in the Science Communication & Policy section below.
Case Study 3: EdTech Architecture & Evidence-Based Learning
Featured Project: Multi-Modal Course Architecture & STEM Transition System
Role: Academic Coordinator, Lead Curriculum Developer & Instructor (Arkansas State University)
Target Audience: 1,000+ Incoming STEM & Pre-Professional Undergraduate Majors
Format: Blended Team-Based Learning Course & Digital Curriculum Blueprint
The Challenge
First-year STEM majors face high attrition rates due to uncoordinated study habits, low engagement, and anxiety around complex scientific inquiry. The goal was to build a blended, highly interactive curriculum that bridges high school transition gaps, builds scientific reasoning, and fosters long-term retention.
Instructional & Design Strategy
- Team-Based Learning (TBL): Structured daily instruction around Individual and Group Readiness Assurance Tests (IRAT/GRAT) to ensure pre-class reading compliance and foster peer-to-peer collaborative problem solving.
- Blended Multi-Platform Ecosystem: Designed seamless integration across digital platforms—combining synchronous real-time polling (Socrative), async LMS coursework (Blackboard), and interactive mobile eBooks (iTunes U).
- Authentic Assessment & Portfolio Projects: Designed diverse evaluation methods—including peer-reviewed research papers, collaborative lab reports, multi-media social justice projects, and continuous formative writing prompts.
Highlighted Instructional Sequence: The Live Memory Experiment
To shift student behavior away from late-stage “cramming” and toward regular retrieval practice, I designed a live, 5-stage empirical experiment embedded in the course.
- Baseline Assessment: Administered an open-note test following a standard lecture.
- Instructional Intervention: Delivered a module on active note-condensation strategies.
- Metric Check 1: Administered a surprise closed-note test to capture immediate retention decay.
- Affective Intervention: Taught a micro-lecture on test anxiety and cognitive load.
- Metric Check 2: Administered a final surprise closed-note test following structured review.
- The Metacognitive Reveal: Instead of grading traditionally, I guided students through calculating the mathematical trajectories of their own scores. Analyzing their own data provided undeniable, empirical proof that regular, condensed review significantly outperforms traditional cramming—permanently altering their study habits for upper-level STEM coursework. To complete the learning loop (and relieve the initial anxiety of the unannounced pop quizzes), I awarded bonus points for participating in the sequence, transforming initial surprise into earned, high-value reinforcement.
The Impact
Institutionalized as a standardized, quality-controlled course template used across incoming science sections, successfully improving student retention metrics and academic self-efficacy.
Meeting people where their understanding — and their resistance — actually starts.
My approach to science communication rejects the assumption that resistance is a knowledge gap to be corrected with more facts. Whether the audience is a skeptical radio listener, a policymaker, or someone newly diagnosed and overwhelmed, I start by mapping the real emotional and conceptual barriers in front of them, then build content that lowers the stakes before it adds information. The result is writing and presentations that people can actually hear.
Evolution, Faith & Public Engagement Series
Lead Communicator, Public Speaker & Media Host
The seminar behind this project is detailed as a design case study above. Its public-facing life includes a weekly radio program (Faith Forward, under the pseudonym Rose Huxley) and a companion blog (Believing Science), both translating contested scientific material for a general, often skeptical audience.
Key Links:
- Faith Forward – Truth About Vaccinations | Evolution Objections Answered? | Logical Fallacies, Part 1 | NBC News Poll Reaction
- Believing Science – The Nature of Science | The Facts About Theories | Charles Darwin: A Man, Not a Monster
Science Policy & Evidence Translation
Featured Project: Science Policy Commentary Series
Role: President & Lead Strategist, Kentuckians for Science Education (materials co-authored with fellow KSE contributors)
Target Audience: Legislators, Policymakers, General Public
As President of Kentuckians for Science Education, I led a small team producing rapid-response commentary translating pending legislation and current events through an evidence-based lens. Much of this work was co-authored, combining subject-matter expertise across biology, public health, and policy into pieces built to eliminate jargon, contextualize raw data, and leave a non-scientist reader with a clear, actionable takeaway.
Key Links
- Bad Biology in the “Save Women’s Sports Act”
- Climate Change and Kentucky: Addressing the Impact of Climate Change while Revitalizing our Coal Communities
- Bridge the Racial Divide in Science: Create the Commission on Race
- Science Says End LGBTQ+ Discrimination
Translating Complex Science & Health
Featured Project: Translating Complex Science & Health
Role: Science Communicator & Content Developer
Target Audience: General Public, Policymakers, Community Members
Beyond any single platform or program, a recurring thread in my work is taking dense, often high-stakes scientific material and rebuilding it into something a non-expert can actually use — without stripping out the nuance that makes it accurate. These pieces span distinct topics unified by the same core method: eliminate jargon, contextualize the raw data, and leave the reader with a clear, actionable takeaway, whether they’re deciding how to talk to a skeptical family member about vaccines or trying to understand what a warming planet means for their own community.
Key Links
- Climate Change: Science, Science & Local Impacts
- Immunology & Vaccine Mechanisms
- Evolution, Human Origins & Identity
- Trauma-Informed Sexual Violence Prevention
Health Communication & Patient Advocacy
Five Daughters Health Advocates (Founder & Copywriter)
Founded and wrote the public-facing voice for a healthcare advocacy practice supporting people managing chronic illness — translating diagnoses, treatment pathways, and healthcare navigation into language that meets people where they are, not where a clinician assumes they are. The site’s tone was built around empathy first: “Chronic pain can be a heavy burden. Let us help you with it.” Individualized client work extended this same translation into personalized medical literature reviews for people facing specific diagnoses and treatment decisions. (Practice closed 2026; client work remains confidential.)
Turning federal process and policy language into something a reader can act on.
Specializing in translating complex federal processes, legislative structures, and policy issues into clear, accessible materials for diverse audiences. Experience spans primers, executive briefs, one-pagers, advocacy documents, and stakeholder communications across graduate education, science policy, and research advocacy.
Featured Policy Primers
Built as standalone teaching tools for advocates entering legislative work with little or no prior exposure to how Congress or federal funding actually operates — the same audience-first approach behind A Crash Course in Congress (see Instructional Design), broken into short reference documents advocates could return to on their own.
Key Links:
- Primer on Legislative Advocacy
- Primer on the Federal Funding Process
- Primer on the Structure and Process of Congress
Executive Briefs & Memos
When research or member feedback surfaced a policy gap, I synthesized it into an executive brief built for readers with limited time and high decision-making authority — agency staff, institutional leadership, policymakers. Most of this work was produced for The FAARM Project; the Graduate Student Life Brief was written for NAGPS.
Key Links:
- FAARM Core Policy Memo
- Graduate Student Life Brief
- FAARM Immediate Needs for Funding Agencies
- FAARM Immediate Needs for Research Institutions
Legislative Statements & Advocacy Letters
Formal statements responding to specific pending federal legislation, produced for The FAARM Project — translating bill language and its practical stakes for legislative offices and coalition partners.
Key Links:
- Improving Mentorship in STEM Higher Education Act (2026)
- RESEARCHER Act Policy Statement (2025)
- MENTOR Act Policy Statement (2024)
One-Pagers & Leave-Behinds
Quick-reference documents built for a reader with seconds, not minutes, to absorb the core ask — produced for NAGPS to leave behind after a legislative meeting
Key Links:
- International Student Concerns
- Support Graduate Research (NAGPS)
- Graduate Funding (NAGPS)
- Higher Education Act Reauthorization (NAGPS)
- Improving Graduate Education (NAGPS)
Presentations & Workshops
Live workshops and conference sessions translating federal policy and advocacy strategy for non-expert audiences. A Crash Course in Congress is explored in full in Instructional Design; additional session materials below.
Key Links:
Building and maintaining the platforms that carry the work.
Most of my writing and design work eventually needs a home — a website, a resource hub, a CMS that other people can navigate without me standing next to them. I’ve built and maintained several WordPress sites from the ground up, handling architecture, content, and day-to-day upkeep, with an increasing focus on accessible design as I’ve learned more about universal design principles.
Policy & Advocacy Platforms
FAARM Project (Co-Founder & Content Strategist)
- Focus: Academic accountability, policy memos, and legislative briefs.
- Key Assets: Core Policy Memo page, Resources directory, Coalition alignment.
- Visuals: Homepage Banner, Policy Documents Page, Resources, Meet the FAARM Team
Kentuckians for Science Education (President & Lead Strategist)
- Focus: Evidence-based policy, public education, and advocacy commentary.
- Key Assets: Rapid-response statements, advocacy toolkits, public education materials.
- Visuals: Homepage, Who We Are, Public Science Communication Page, Statements.
Public Science Communication & Digital Publishing
Personal Website & Learning Hub (Designer & Writer)
- Focus: Central hub integrating open-access toolkits, public science guides, and portfolio materials.
- Key Assets: Universal design principles, structured learning paths, clear content taxonomy.
- Visuals: Learning & Advocacy Hub, Sample Post Layout (“The Science of Vaccines”).
Believing Science
- Believing Science reflects my early science communication practice. The writing predates my training in universal design and accessibility, and I now approach digital content with a much more intentional, inclusive design philosophy. The blog remains a valuable record of my longform public engagement.
- Link: A Believing Scientist
- Visuals: Homepage, Sample Blog Posts
Client & Business Digital Media
Five Daughters Health Advocates (Founder & Designer — Private/Unpublished)
- Focus: Strategic web layout, client intake pathways, and compassionate messaging for chronic condition support.
- Key Assets: Service tier structure, accessible client engagement, complex medical content translation.
- Visuals: Homepage Hero, About Us, Services/Pricing Structure, Contact Us
