About

You can call me Ellie

I’m a folklorist, a dancer, and a casual language enthusiast. I received my BA in Cultural Anthropology in 2013 from the College of William & Mary, and I have past work experience in arts administration and adult English language education, including spending a year as a Fulbright English Teaching Fellow at the University of Aveiro, Portugal.

My first taste of public folklore came when I worked as a media intern at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2015. There, I saw powerful examples of how creative traditions can empower people, connect communities, and highlight the beauty in everyday life. I received my Master’s degree in Folk Studies at Western Kentucky University, with a concentration in public folklore, in May 2021. I am currently the Assistant Director for Traditional Arts at South Arts, based in Atlanta, Georgia, where I help to facilitate South Arts’ Traditional Arts programs, including the In These Mountains initiative supporting and documenting traditional arts and cultures in Central Appalachia. I’m a passionate believer in the importance of applied folklore work and the role traditional culture can play in building a more equitable world.