I'm a PhD and MBA who has spent over a decade studying fandom, and a lifetime as a fangirl. I've been involved in fandom since my teens, when I discovered online fan groups and thought it was a good idea to send a bottle of Tabasco sauce to the WB (if you were a Roswell fan, you know what that's about).
I earned my PhD in Communication Studies in 2020 from Northwestern University, where I wrote my dissertation on the complex relationships between fans and the media industries, specifically what the discourse around “entitled” fans can tell us about how the boundaries of desirable fandom are being negotiated. My ongoing research and writing combines my academic training with my business background and personal experience in fandom. My goal is to continue to better understand various fan cultures, and to identify and analyze the ways that brands can engage with fans in mutually beneficial ways.