His research on literacy narratives, digital media and production, and community outreach includes the award-winning born-digital Transnational Literate Lives in Digital Times (2012, with Gail E. Hawisher and Cynthia L. Selfe). He is interested in how mindfulness and contemplative practices can enrich learning and has led symposia and workshops exploring listening as an often-overlooked practice in the teaching of writing. Originally from New York City, he completed an MA in literature at Brooklyn College while working in magazine publishing before turning to his chosen field of Writing Studies. He is currently completing the manuscript for a book, Beyond Hope: Literacy, Mobility, and Possibility in an Age of Mass Incarceration.