1. Where did you grow up?
I spent my childhood in McHenry, Illinois. As I frequently phrase it, McHenry is a“suburb of a suburb of Chicago.” In McHenry, my days were often filled with wading through creeks, exploring my neighborhood and rescuing small animals until dusk set in. McHenry was close enough to Chicago to make the train a convenient option. I can still remember taking the train to downtown Chicago as a child and walking up and down Michigan Avenue with my family to see the Christmas window displays before warming up with a cup of hot chocolate.
2. Why did you select law librarianship as a career?
After graduating law school and passing the bar, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia, with my now husband and opened our own law firm. We practiced together for over thirteen years. However, after having my daughter, I grew dissatisfied with practicing law and the stress it brought with it. When I began searching for other careers where I could use my J.D., I discovered a job opening for a law librarian position. It did not take long before I was enrolled in library school at UNC Chapel Hill and started my law librarianship journey. Once I got to library school and started to get to know the local law librarians, I knew I made the right decision and haven’t looked back.
3. When did you develop an interest in foreign, comparative, and/or international law?
My interest in international law started as a child with the 90s TV game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? I still can’t say the title without singing the theme song in my head.☺Nothing like international theft to spark an interest! I loved learning about the different countries trying to locate Carmen, and her henchmen, based on clues. It wasn’t until much later, when I was in library school, that I found FCIL Research. My interest was again sparked when I had the opportunity to participate in a field experience with Mike McArthur at Duke Law. He invited me to assist in his FCIL Methods class, by incorporating DEI into the class. It was during the research I conducted for the field experience and through listening to Mike’s lectures that my passion was reignited.
4. Who is your current employer? How long have you worked there?
I currently work at the J. Michael Goodson Law Library, Duke University School of Law, as a Research Services Librarian & Senior Lecturing Fellow. I started in July of 2022 and will be entering my third year at the library.
5. Do you speak any foreign languages?
I am in the process (very early) of learning French and can read a little Spanish. I hope to join the Virtual French Language Table soon and hopefully pick up enough French to navigate around in time for a tentatively planned trip to Paris in December (dining suggestions appreciated – See question 7!).
6. What is your most significant professional achievement?
Getting my job at Duke! Beyond that, I am proud to have co-authored an article about incorporating DEIA in a FCIL Legal Research Course and to have co-created a class that will be offered Fall 2024 on the use of AI in Legal Research.
7. What is your favorite food?
I love food, especially trying new foods! To identify my favorite is a near impossibility, but for the sake of this profile, I will say cheese. While my childhood was spent in Illinois, I was born in Wisconsin to the owners of a cheese shop. Just before I began kindergarten, my parents closed the store and relocated to Illinois. Even with the store closed my parents continued to surround us with beautifully complex and flavorful cheeses making it a true staple in my life. It was a particular point of pride for my grandmother when I began to enjoy bleu cheese. She saw it as a sign of maturity, palate and person.
8. What song makes you want to get up and sing/dance?
Music is a motivating force in my life. Depending on what mood I am in (or want to be in) my tastes can change drastically. For example, before class you might find me singing along to Giant by ZZ Ward to get pumped and ready. But after class, Three Little Birds by Bob Marley might be more what I need to decompress. Regardless of the genre, I tend to favor artists that are lyricists, like Dessa, extending even into vocal jazz like Gretchen Parlato.
9. What ability or skill do you most wish you had (that you don’t have already)?
Not the most creative answer, but language skills. I would love to be able to speak, read and understand many languages (and still hope to). For now, Google Translate/Lens fills this void. Beyond language, I would love to learn how to SCUBA dive!
10. Aside from the basic necessities, what is one thing you can’t go a day without?
I consider coffee a basic necessity, but…coffee.
11. Anything else you would like to share with us?
I have a newfound interest in Korean game shows (thank you Netflix). No, not Squid Games, real Korean Game Shows, like Physical: 100 or The Devil’s Plan.
DipLawMatic Dialogues 