A LITTLE ABOUT ME

​I am the Elizabeth Denio Professor, Co-Director of Jewish Studies, and Chair of the Department of Religion and Classics at the University of Rochester. As a scholar at the intersection of food, religion, and American ethnic identity, my work explores how domestic spaces and everyday rituals shape the American Jewish experience. My training began with a BA from Rutgers University in Religion and American Studies followed by an MA from Boston University in Religion and Culture. I completed my doctorate in American Religions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Certificate in Women's Studies. 

Born in Naples, Italy, I called many places home before landing in Rochester, New York (aka the Flower City). Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Rochester, I spent two years as Visiting Faculty at Connecticut College in New London.

I have two kids, two dogs (Don Cheagle and Cosmo Castorini), and my partner Rob Nipe is the Vegan Butcher of Rochester. When asked to make the uncomfortable choice between latkes and hamantaschen, I am solidly #TeamLatke.

​The burden isn’t either/or,
consciously choosing from possibilities equally difficult and regrettable—
​it’s and/and/and/and/and as well.
​
-Philip Roth

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Image: ​ "Warm weather Mah-Jong, photo snapped at Wordman Park Pool." Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.