Doll Researcher/Writer, working in Doll Studies (a subset of Material Culture Studies) since 2008.

Dollmaker and Restorer. I have been making original dolls since I was six. I have made custom dolls for:
● Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize-winning fiction writer.
● Bud Grace, cartoonist of Piranha Club.
● Liddle Kiddles, by Paris Langford (Paducah, KY: Collector Books, 1995).
Photos of my re-designed Mattel Liddle Kiddles appear in the primary handbook for collectors of this doll line.

EXPERIENCE
DIRECTOR, OMNIDOLL CONSULTING
2012 – Present Day

Researching dolls from multiple eras, regions, and manufacturers. My clients have included museums, private individuals, non-profits, and emerging doll companies.
Assessing doll value and condition for non-profits:

● The Dr. Toy Warehouse Deacquisition Project (2021-2023).
● Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo (July 2017).
● The Museum of Jurassic Technology, Los Angeles (2011, 2016).
● The Pacifica Historical Society Rummage Sale (Nov. 2016).
● The Roger Brown Study Collection, School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Fall 2016).
● The Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale (2011).

DIRECTOR, DR. TOY DEACQUISITION PROJECT,
Nov. 15, 2021-May 31, 2023, Berkeley, CA
I instigated and oversaw the rehoming of all of the papers, books, dolls, toys, and collections of Dr. Stevanne Auerbach before she passed away, as well as sorted, identified, repaired, and carried out preliminary archival preparations for items accepted by:
—The Strong Museum of Play, Rochester, NY;
—The Computer History Museum, San Jose, CA;
—San Francisco International Airport Museum;
—Henry Miller Memorial Library, Big Sur, CA;
—Mountaintop Retreat and Discovery Center, Antioch, CA;
—Internet Archive;
—Fairyland of Oakland Storybook Puppet Theater;
—UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology, Davis, CA;
—A new archive in honor of Stevanne being set up in Finland by play theorist Dr. Katriina Heljakka.

CURATOR OF DOLLS, INTERNATIONAL TOY MUSEUM OF OAKLAND, CA
November 2016 to March 2017

Worked closely with Stevanne Auerbach, “Dr. Toy,” play researcher and toy reviewer.
Assessed dolls in the museum collection for condition, prospective exhibitions, and value.
Researched and wrote materials for doll assessments and prospective exhibitions.
Advised on the preservation and repair of dolls in the collection.
Donated a large collection of doll ephemera for exhibition.
Developed exhibits for dolls focusing on a variety of educational themes, such as:
—Dolls as expressions of individual and communal identity.
—Dolls as means of storytelling.
—Dolls as culture bearers.

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Rhetoric (Oral Tradition Studies emphasis), University of California at Berkeley.

M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Fiction), Emerson College.
Certificate of Completion in Study of Composition Instruction, Brown University.

B.A, Summa Cum Laude, English, Arizona State University.

I have published articles in peer-reviewed journals and one book in the above fields (_Folk Women and Indirection in Morrison, Ni Dhuibhne, Hurston, and Lavin_, Ashgate Press, Dec. 2007)

I am currently working on my second book, _Doll Culture in America_, with interest from University Press of Mississippi.

Specialties: Doll Studies, Film Studies, Folklore/Material Culture Studies.