Professional Overview

As healthcare systems grow increasingly complex and populations age, the need for innovative, technology-enabled learning approaches has never been more urgent. This portfolio represents my evolution as a marketplace-academic in education research, documenting a scholarly journey from broad interests in learning technologies and adult development to a focused commitment to innovation at the intersection of technology, education, and healthcare. My work explores how digital tools, particularly storytelling technologies, can facilitate transformative learning experiences that enhance well-being across the lifespan.​

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Reframing Theory Through Learning and Practice

My intellectual growth throughout the doctoral program reflects a fundamental shift in how I understand learning itself. Initially trained in applied models such as ADDIE, Successive Approximation Model (SAM), and Problem-Based Learning (PBL), I developed a deeper appreciation for the epistemological foundations of learning theories through engagement with Dewey, Mayer, Sweller, Gagné, Herrington, Kolb, and others. This theoretical grounding led me to articulate my own personal learning theory, integrating humanistic, pragmatic, and multimodal approaches while viewing technology as a tool for learning in community or self-directed contexts. Drawing on sociocultural, ecological, and constructivist perspectives, I now conceptualize learning as a continuous, changing, collaborative process in which education extends beyond knowledge acquisition to meaningful application, growth, and the creation of connections that shape lifelong learning.

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This theoretical evolution has been reinforced through applicable collaborative research, though not without significant challenges. Balancing full-time work with doctoral studies required making difficult choices and constantly adjusting priorities. Additionally, I learned that rigorous research and publication demand far more time than I initially anticipated, a lesson that taught me patience, persistence, perseverance, and respect for the scholarly process. Despite these challenges, I have contributed to studies examining music listening as a tool for facilitating cultural bridging by investigating emotional responses to music, the effects of sound on working memory, testing generative AI systems in real-world and knowledge-based settings, and the caregiver paradox in multigenerational caregiving contexts within Industry 4.0.

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Doctoral Student Accomplishments​

With cohort members, I co-presented at AACE's EdMedia 2024 symposium on leveraging technology to enhance learner engagement and learning outcomes. I also collaborated on a project examining how peer interactions foster communities of inquiry and practice among doctoral students in distributed programs, which was presented at the Educational Research Exchange (ERE) during the 2024 Annual Residency meeting at UNT. Most recently, I completed a qualitative study on digital storytelling using three frameworks. Additionally, I collaborated with a colleague on inter-rater reliability analysis of the data from this research, which was presented at the Educational Research Exchange (ERE) during the UNT 2025 Annual Residency meeting. Then, presenting the same research at the Academy of Communication in Healthcare International Conference.

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These experiences advanced my research skills from IRB processes to data analysis, coding, and manuscript preparation, while reinforcing the value of collaborative inquiry and the importance of building a supportive scholarly community. Additionally, coursework in LTEC 6200 and LTEC 6020 enabled me to apply Mayer's multimedia principles and instructional design theories directly to my professional work at Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and UC Berkeley, elevating project deliverables through advanced instructional design approaches.

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Research Concentrations​

​My research addresses urgent challenges at the crossroads of healthcare, technology, and lifelong learning. Working in healthcare, I’ve witnessed a troubling inconsistency: while technology advances rapidly, clinician education, patient health literacy, and access to care in the U.S. have declined significantly, creating access barriers and health disparities. These observations shape my research interests, which center on the transformative potential of digital storytelling in healthcare contexts, with particular attention to how technology-mediated narrative processes facilitate learning and empathy. More broadly, I am interested in how technology, multigenerational learning, and holistic education intersect as traditional approaches to curriculum and instructional design change. With people living longer and technology advancing rapidly, I want to explore adult development across the lifespan, examining how learning systems must adapt to serve diverse, aging populations in an increasingly digital healthcare landscape.

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My proposed dissertation examines whether creating digital stories helps women learn about and better understand their own health experiences, and explores the role of empathy in this transformative learning process. This work addresses a critical gap in the literature, which has predominantly focused on audience reception rather than the storyteller's learning journey.

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Goals, Aspirations, and Pursuits

My professional goals center on translating scholarly research into practical applications that address real-world challenges in healthcare and community settings. As a marketplace-academic, I aim to provide strategic consulting in public policy, research, and data-driven decision-making, as well as educational innovation in health education, leveraging my expertise to generate meaningful ROI for organizations and companies. Specifically, I envision developing frameworks that integrate holistic education, addressing mind, body, emotion, and spirit, within corporate healthcare organizations, community health systems, or non-profit organizations. These frameworks would support both patient well-being and clinician resilience, creating a sustainable impact that extends beyond traditional educational models.​

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Acknowledgements

I am deeply grateful to my doctoral committee, Rose Baker, Ji Hyun Yu, Carole L. Jurkiewicz, Fritz Lebowsky, and Dr. Earl E. Thomas, outside of UNT,  for their mentorship and guidance throughout this journey. I am equally grateful to my family and friends for their unwavering support and encouragement, which sustained me through the challenges of doctoral study.