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I was previously assistant professor of language, literacy, and culture in the College of Education at the University of Washington in Seattle. How did you get into your field of research? My research is focused on young children’s literacy learning in multilingual early childhood classrooms. This work is deeply connected to my experiences as a teacher of young, multilingual children in Washington, D.C. When I first started teaching, I noticed that my students were often discouraged from bringing their languages into our classroom through books, assessments, and environments that prioritized English alone. Through my research, I seek informative post to make early literacy classrooms more equitable, inclusive, and humanizing — and to create spaces where children feel free to use all of their communicative resources in learning and expression. What attracted you to UW-Madison? There were many reasons! I was drawn to UW–Madison because of its excellent reputation in research and teaching. I was also particularly excited about working with the new Center for Research on Early Childhood Education. What was your first visit to campus like? My sister attended UW for undergrad, so I think my first visit to campus was to help her move into her freshman dorm room many years ago. More recently, my campus interview visit was in January, so it was both lovely and snowy! I really enjoyed connecting with my future colleagues, learning about opportunities for research and community work in Madison, and seeing the campus covered in snow.