About Me
Academics
I am a PhD student and community-engaged scholar in Information Sciences whose work examines youth literacy, school libraries, and the relationship between literacy, power, and belonging in contexts shaped by structural inequality. My research focuses on how young people construct meaningful reading lives through everyday practices, peer networks, and library spaces—particularly in and around schools.
Continue Reading
I am especially committed to equity-centered and participatory approaches that refuse deficit narratives. My work highlights youth knowledge, community expertise, and locally rooted literacies, asking not what young people lack, but what becomes possible when their agency is centered.
Work
Alongside my academic research, I am the founder of Project XXI, a nonprofit initiative advancing youth-led literacy practices in South Africa through collaborative book clubs and school library partnerships. This work is grounded in a simple principle: nothing about them without them. What began as a localized school initiative has grown into cross-school partnerships sustained through student leadership and peer mentorship.
Continue Reading
My work sits at the intersection of research and practice. I build literacy infrastructures while studying how they shape reading identity, agency, and recognition. I am particularly interested in collaborations that connect scholarship, schools, and communities in ways that produce both knowledge and meaningful change.
Research Interests
My research focuses on how literacy practices, library spaces, and community partnerships shape young people’s experiences of reading, knowledge, and belonging.
Youth literacy practices and reading identity
School libraries as spaces of equity, belonging, and intellectual agency
Community‑engaged and participatory research methods
Youth-led literacy initiatives and peer learning cultures
Partnerships between schools, libraries, and communities to expand access to reading
Literacy, power, and knowledge production in contexts shaped by structural inequality
Teaching & Mentorship
My teaching and mentorship are grounded in the belief that learning is most meaningful when students see themselves as active participants in knowledge creation. I support students in developing critical literacy, intellectual confidence, and collaborative learning practices. Drawing from my experience as a librarian, educator, and researcher, I am particularly interested in mentoring students through projects that connect reading, inquiry, and community engagement. Whether in classrooms, workshops, or literacy programs, I aim to cultivate spaces where students can explore ideas, develop their voices, and take leadership in shaping their own learning.