PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

My professional development activities have focused on strengthening three areas essential to my role as a scholar-practitioner: technical expertise, scholarly productivity, and, perhaps most unexpectedly, academic leadership. Through specialized certifications, national fellowships, leadership academies, and advanced training programs, I have intentionally developed the knowledge and skills necessary to support both my own scholarly agenda and the long-term growth of Howard University's immersive media infrastructure. Collectively, these experiences have expanded my capacity to contribute not only as an industry practitioner, but also as a scholar, educator, and institutional leader.

Howard University Chair Leadership Academy (2025–2026)

Context: Completed the intensive year-long Chair Leadership Academy hosted by the Office of the Provost.

Effort: Completed this advanced training to prepare for my leadership role as Assistant Chair in the Department of Media, Journalism & Film. Engaged in training modules focused on faculty development, budget management, conflict resolution, and legal compliance.

Impact: Strengthened my administrative and operational skills, matching my real-world executive experience with the specific tools needed to lead a complex, multi-discipline department.

Mellon Foundation "Breaking the M.O.L.D." Leadership Fellowship
  • Context: Selected as an institutional fellow for the 2025–2026 Breaking the M.O.L.D. (Mellon Opportunities for Leadership Diversity) initiative.
  • Effort: Engaged in intensive executive training and regional partnerships with schools like UMBC and UMD. Focused on developing senior administrative skills, institutional strategy, and systemic change models for the arts and humanities.
  • Impact: Positioned me within an elite network of future higher-education leaders. This fellowship directly enhanced my administrative capacity as Assistant Chair, aligning my career trajectory with national models for academic leadership diversity.

Link: https://breakingthemold.umbc.edu/howard-university-cohort/ 

Audio Engineering Society (AES) Immersive Audio Academy Training

Context: Completed advanced technical training at the 9th Edition of the AES Immersive Audio Academy, focusing on "Mixing Immersive Audio for Games" (March 2025).

Effort: Completed specialized modules in spatial audio engineering, interactive sound engines, and object-based audio mixing for gaming environments.

Impact: Expanded my technical expertise into interactive animation and game audio design. This continuous training directly supports the ongoing technical execution of my Social Sonic Design framework.

IRB Training

Completed March 2026

5 CITI Courses (for IRB process) - Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research; Researchers; Group 2.SOCIAL; Research Security: A Basic Course; Conflicts of Interest; and CITI Export Controls Course

Avid Certified Professional in Pro Tools | Dolby ATMOS

Context: Achieved elite industry certification as an Avid Certified Professional in Pro Tools and Dolby ATMOS on February 19, 2023.

Effort: Completed intensive technical training under industry leader Dr. Leslie Gaston-Bird through her specialized Immersive and Inclusive program to master spatial audio mixing workflows.

Impact: Validated my high-level spatial audio expertise with the industry-standard certification for immersive sound. This elite credential forms the exact technical foundation needed to build my Social Sonic Design framework and engineer award-winning projects like When You Hit Me.

Howard University Junior Faculty Writing and Creative Works Summer Academy
  • Context: Completed the intensive 2020 Junior Faculty Writing and Creative Works Summer Academy during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Effort: Engaged in structured mentorship, research planning, and scholarly accountability systems under the guidance of mentor Dr. Rajni Goel.
  • Impact: Successfully built the interdisciplinary research trajectory that directly led to publishing my book chapter, "Call & Response," in The Emerald Handbook of Computer-Mediated Communication. This targeted professional development accelerated my growth from an industry expert into a top-tier scholar.