I have a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College. After working in public relations, I enlisted as an Arabic linguist in the Navy, where I spent six years working translating intelligence materials (both audio and written) from several varieties of Arabic, including Standard Arabic, Iraqi, Syrian and Libyan. After separating from the Navy, I completed a master's degree in Arabic from Georgetown University.

For three years, I was lead revising editor for the Oxford Arabic Dictionary (2014), and I have produced many translations of Arabic poems and short stories, some of which were published by World Literature Today, Banipal, and others. I am Superior/Distinguished proficiency in Tunisian and Modern Standard Arabic, with high-level passive proficiency in several other varieties, including Egyptian, Levantine, Libyan, and Iraqi.

I strive for translations that are faithful to the meaning of the original text, but elegant and natural in English.