I am a specialist in the art and visual culture of the ancient Americas (a field sometimes referred to as “Pre-Columbian”). Trained in art history at UCLA (BA, 2019) and Columbia University (PhD, 2026), my core scholarly interests revolve around materiality, ecology, and the modern and contemporary reception of Pre-Columbian art. My dissertation—completed while in residence as a Junior Fellow in Pre-Columbian Studies at the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Washington, DC—examined Tairona metalworks from ancient Caribbean Colombia through the lens of the Blue Humanities.

At Hopkins, I am the Austen Stokes Art of the Ancient Americas Endowed Postdoctoral Fellow (2026-2028) in the Department of the History of Art, where I am at work on my first scholarly monograph. Tentatively titled Unmaking El Dorado: Tairona Metalwork and the Materiality of Entropy, this study examines how and why metallurgists from ancient Caribbean Colombia imbued into their metalworks volatile aspects of their coastal environments and lived experiences. Shifting perspectives on materials largely understood to be stable and unchanging (such as gold), Unmaking El Dorado nuances discourse on heritage and patrimony in Latin America, while expanding the geographic parameters of the art of the ancient Americas toward the littoral margins in between the grand Aztec (Mexica) and Inka empires. The book draws on extensive analyses of un-published objects in museum collections across Colombia and the United States, research for which was supported by the Mellon Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and the Columbia University Office of the Provost, among others.

In the fall of 2026, I am excited to teach Indigenous Architectures, Sites, and Environments, a course which introduces students to pre-colonial architectural sites throughout the Western Hemisphere like Machu Picchu, Ciudad Perdida, Teotihuacan, and Chaco Canyon through critical terms such as Indigeneity, antiquity, ecology, and heritage.