I was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii (also called Hawaii Island).  In 1989, I graduated from Konawaena High School (salutatorian) and subsequently moved to Honolulu, Oahu where I attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) where I was a Regent Scholar.  Although I began college with the intention of studying mathematics, I soon found that my true interest was in economics.  In 1993, I graduated (summa cum laude) from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a B.A. in Economics.  The following fall, I started my graduate studies in Economics.  In 1996, I earned my M.A. in Economics from the University of Southern California (USC) and then my Ph.D. in Economics also from USC in December of 2002.

In July 2023, I joined the Department of Economics in the Harriot College of Arts & Sciences at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC where I currently serve as the James E. and Constance Paul Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Economics Department (2023-present). Prior to joining ECU, I was a faculty member in the Economics Department at Baylor University (2000-2023).

My disciplinary service includes serving on the American Economic Association's (AEA) Committee on Economic Education (AEA-CEE) (2009-2016, 2022-2023, 2024-present). I currently serve as AEA-CEE Chair (2024-present). As part of my AEA-CEE work, I have served on the program committee for the Conference on Teaching and Research in Economic Education (CTREE, 2011-2013, 2021-2022), chairing the program committee for the 2013 CTREE.  Also related to my AEA-CEE service and my economic education research, I am a facilitator for EDUCATE (2021-present) and, in the past, served as an instructor in the Teaching Innovations Program (TIP). My editorial work has included serving as an associate or co-editor for the Southern Economic Journal and the  Journal of Economic Education. I currently serve on the Editorial Board for the International Review of Economics Education. Additionally, I have served on the AP Macroeconomics Development Committee (2020-2024, Higher Education Co-chair 2021-2022).

My teaching has been recognized with the Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award from the Southern Economic Association (2016) and the Hankamer School of Business Teaching Excellence Award (2023) at Baylor University. I have been honored to give several keynote addresses including at the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank’s annual Women in Economics Symposium (February 2022), the Australasian Teaching Economics Conference (ATEC, July 2022), and the University of Sydney School of Economics Teaching Symposium (November 2025). In November 2022, I worked with the economic education group of the Research Division at the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank to develop economic education materials.

My greatest blessing and joy is my daughter, Sarah. When possible, I enjoy spending time with Sarah on one of our many “mommy & me” adventures. Sarah is a 2025 graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) where she graduated with honors, a BS in marine biology, and a minor in economics. Sarah works in shark research at the Holland Shark Lab at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) where she is currently heading a research project on hammerhead shark pups.

I live in Greenville, NC and enjoy traveling the world.