A sociolinguist by training, she has been actively involved in teaching and research in the area of language, culture, multiple literacies, and schooling. Her current research focuses on the intersection of language, culture, and learning in school and community settings, as they play out in an after-school Science Investigators Club for at-risk middle school students. She is also currently involved in rethinking teacher education so that it focuses central attention on "Accountable talk" and "teacher research" — supporting teachers as theorizers, curriculum innovators, and educational leaders who use the tools of ethnography and discourse analysis in asking and answering their own questions. She holds a B.A. from Barnard College and a Ph.D. in Education (Language and Literacy) from the University of California, Berkeley.