About
Teaching, practice, and the questions in between
More than a decade in hotel operations, a teaching record across two university systems, and a research agenda built on what both revealed.
Background
I am a hospitality educator and researcher completing my PhD in Hospitality Management at Iowa State University, where I also teach as a graduate assistant. My work sits at the intersection of food safety compliance and hospitality workforce development, grounded in over seventeen years of teaching hospitality operations across lodging, foodservice, and marketing, and a decade in hotel front office and food and beverage operations.
Before coming to the United States, I lectured at Takoradi Technical University in Ghana, teaching courses in lodging and front office operations, foodservice management, hospitality marketing, and food safety. That work continues to shape how I think about training, because the gap between a written procedure and what actually happens on a busy line looks similar in Takoradi and in Ames.
The question that pulled me toward research was a practical one. Food safety rules are written for an imagined average worker, and real kitchens are not staffed by that person. Understanding how managers train the people who fall outside that average, particularly employees with disabilities, turned out to be both a public health question and a workforce question at the same time.
Teaching
I have taught across two university systems, bringing hotel operations experience directly into the classroom. What I care about most in teaching is the same thing I study, which is whether the person in front of me can actually do the thing afterwards, not whether the material was covered.
Recent courses of record at Iowa State University include:
Hospitality and Apparel Marketing Strategies
Redesigned the course around digital marketing, hospitality branding, and consumer behavior.
Lodging Operations
Applied instruction in front office operations, reservations systems, guest services, and yield management, drawn directly from hotel management practice.
Entertainment Venue Management
Venue operations, event logistics, and guest experience management.
Lecturer, Department of Hospitality Management
A full portfolio of hospitality courses across lodging, foodservice, and marketing, integrating food safety and regulatory compliance throughout.
Senior Instructor, Department of Hospitality Management
HND, Diploma, and Professional Diploma courses in front office operations, tourism, food production management, and food and beverage service.
Food Lab Assistant and Teaching Instructor
Ran practical food production units in a commercial kitchen and instructed diploma courses in tourism, front office operations, and introductory hospitality management.
Graduate teaching assistant
Supporting instruction, assessment, and student feedback in foundational hospitality coursework.
Leadership and honors
President, Eta Sigma Delta Honor Society
President, National Society for Minorities in Hospitality
Principal Investigator, FSMEC Research Grant
Preparing Future Faculty Program
Credentials
- Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE)
American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute - ServSafe Manager
National Restaurant Association - ServSafe Instructor and Registered Examination Proctor
National Restaurant Association, valid through 2029