• Temple University Japan, Research Fellow, Institute for the Study of Contemporary Culture (2007)
• Temple University, Department of Religion (MA 2001, Ph.D. 2003)
• International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto. Graduate University of Advanced Study (Visiting Researcher 2001-2002). 
• Georgetown University School Languages and Linguistics (B.S.L.A. cum laude 1989)

• 100-level: Religion in a Global Context.
• 200-level: Buddhist Traditions, Religion and Film (online); The Silk Road: Religion, Art and Exchange in the Age of Global Empires (Honors).
• 300-level: Sites and Rites: Sacred Space and Ritual in World Religions; Sages and Samurai: Religion in the Japanese Experience; Chinese "Religions" from Confucius to Mao; Religion and Art of Asia (GST).
• 400-level: Comparative Mysticism, Senior Seminar, Undergraduate Research

• Founding Co-chair, Steering Committee Member.  Sacred Space in Asia Group, American Academy of Religion (AAR)
• Juror.  Religion and the Arts Award Jury,  American Academy of Religion (AAR)
• Co-chair. Religions of Asia Section, American Academy of Religion Southeast Region / Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion (AAR/SECSOR)
• Vice President, Board of Directors. Association of Religion and Intellectual Life (ARIL)
• Editorial Board member. CrossCurrents Journal
• Coordinator. Elon University Asian Studies Program

• Esoteric Buddhist art and doctrine in Japan, Zen icons and iconoclasm, new religious movements in Japan, religion and art, religion and healing, sacred space, comparative mysticism (Asian-European traditions)

• Icons and Iconoclasm in Japanese Buddhism: Kukai and Dogen on the Art of Enlightenment. In production with Oxford University Press.

Selected Publications

• “Contributing Editor.  "Religion in Asia Today” special issue. Cross Currents Journal vol. 61, no 3, (September 2011), 286-421.

• “Coronation at Koyasan: How One Woman Became King And Learned About Homeland Security and National Health Care in Ancient Japan” in Studying Religions in Practice: Buddhism. Ed. John Harding.  Taylor & Francis / Routledge Press, 2012, pp. 11-24.

• “The Mandala as Metropolis” in Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Charles Orzech, Richard Payne, and Henrik Sørensen eds. Handbook of Oriental Studies (Handbuch der Orientalistik section 4-China, vol. 24).  Leiden, Boston:  Brill Publishers, 2011, pp. 719-743.

• “State of the Fields:  Recent Contributions to Japanese Art History and Religious Studies” Religious Studies Review vol. 36 no. 3 (September 2010) pp. 199-205. 

• “Kyoto Pilgrimage Past and Present” in Cross-Currents vol.  59, no. 3 (September 2009) pp. 349-357.  Also published online wiley.com/WileyCDA/Brand/id-35.html.

• “The Diaspora of Heavenly Hubris:  Scattering Spiritual Pride at Indra’s Palace and the Tower of Babel.”  The Journal of Indian Philosophy and Religion, vol. 12, October, 2007, pp. 1-28. 

• “Curing With Kaji:  Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japan” in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies (JJRS) Vol. 32, no. 1, 2005, pp. 107-130.   

• Drifting: Nakahama Manjiro’s Tale of Discovery, An Illustrated Manuscript Recounting Ten Years at Sea (1841-1851).  Catalogue for the exhibition by the same name at the Rosenbach Museum and Library, Philadelphia, PA (Oct. 5, 1999 – Jan 30, 2000).

Recent Professional Conference Papers

• "New Wine in Old Bottles?  Shinnyo-en and the Question of Categories” Association of Asian Studies (AAS) southeast regional conference, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Jan 15, 2011).  Convened and participated in panel entitled:  'New Trends in Old Religions, Old Trends in New:  Demographics, Doctrines and Death in New Religious Movements of Japan.
• "Ito Shinjo's Path of Oneness:  The Life and Legacy of an Ambiguous Ajari”  Association of Asian Studies (AAS) Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA (March 25, 2010).  Participated in panel entitled: 'Telling Lives: The Role of the Individual in Modern Japanese Religions,” sponsored by the Society for the Study of Japanese Religions (SSJR).
• "Religion and the State in Japan:  The Case of Shinnyo-en” American Academy of Religion (AAR) Southeast Regional Conference in collaboration with Southeastern Commission on the Study of Religion (SECSOR), Greensboro, NC (March 14, 2008).  Participated in panel entitled: 'The State and Religions in Asia.” 
• "Ito Shinjo and the Formulation of a New Esoteric Iconography” Association of Asian Studies (AAS) Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA (April 6, 2007).  Convened and participated in interdisciplinary panel entitled: 'Invoking the Founder in Japanese Esoteric Art and Ritual.”

Committee Work

• GST Council (Chair, 2011-2012)
• Asian Studies Program (Coordinator)
• International Studies Advisory Board
• Non-Violence Studies Advisory Board (2010-2012)
• Reassign Time Task Force (2010)
• AAC&U “GenEd for a Global Century” application team (2010)
• Innovations in Instruction Conference Planning Committee (2009)
• Departmental Secretary, Visual Culture Group

Faculty Advising

• Religious Studies majors
• Asian Studies minors
• International Studies majors / Asia regional concentrations

Association of Asian Studies (AAS) - Publication Subvention for first-time authors

Meredith College - Harry and Marion Eberly Faculty Development Award (2006-2007)  (highest award for scholarship)