I am a historian of the North American West, Transnational Borderlands, Indigenous peoples, Comparative Genocide, Religion, Public History, and the Environment.
Currently, I am Associate Director of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies and Professor in the Department of History at Brigham Young University. Previously, I held positions as an Historian and Documentary Editor for the Joseph Smith Papers at the LDS Church History Department, a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and adjunct professor at Weber State University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Nebraska Wesleyan University. I earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in History (2010, 2006) from University of Nebraska – Lincoln, and a B.A. in History (2004) from Brigham Young University.
To follow on Twitter or other social media sites, see this list on Link Tree.
To check out my book, Native But Foreign: Indigenous Immigrants and Refugees in the North American Borderlands, visit the book’s companion website, follow it on Facebook for updates, or buy it on Amazon or from Texas A&M University Press.
I am the Host and Producer of the Writing Westward Podcast. On the podcast I host conversations with authors of new books about the North American West. Visit the podcast website to listen or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, YouTube, RSS feed, etc., or follow on Facebook and Twitter.
I am the Project Manager and General Editor of the Intermountain Histories digital public history project. It is a website and free mobile app that curates local histories around the Intermountain West that are researched by University students and professors around the region. Visit the website, download the free app on Apple and Android devices, and follow the project on Facebook or Twitter for regular updates
Employment:
Current:
- 2019-present: Associate Director, Charles Redd Center for Western Studies, Brigham Young University
- 2024-present: Professor, Department of History, Brigham Young University
Past:
- 2019-24: Associate Professor, Department of History, Brigham Young University
- 2015-19: Assistant Director, Charles Redd Center for Western Studies, Brigham Young University
- 2015-19: Assistant Professor, Department of History, Brigham Young University
- 2013-15: Historian and Documentary Editor, Joseph Smith Papers, LDS Church History Department
- 2013-15: Adjunct Professor, Department of History, Weber State University
- 2011-13: Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Nebraska at Kearney
- 2011-12: Adjunct Instructor, Nebraska Wesleyan University
- 2008-11: Lecturer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- 2003-07: Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Education:
- 2010: Ph.D. in History, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
- 2006: M.A. in History, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
- 2003: B.A. in History, Brigham Young University
Awards:
- 2021
- Karl G. Maeser Professional Faculty Excellence Award, Brigham Young University
- 2020-22
- Marjorie Pay Hinckley Young Scholar Award, Brigham Young University
- 2020
- Metcalfe Best Anthology Book Award, John Whitmer Historical Association
- 2019
- Spur Award for Best Historical Nonfiction Book, Western Writers of America
- 2009
- Walter Rundell Graduate Student Award, Western History Association.
- Best Graduate Student Paper Prize, Northern Great Plains History Conference.
- University Libraries Influence Award, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries.
- 2008
- Certificate of Recognition for Contributions to Students, UNL Teaching Council and Parents Association.