I am a cultural anthropologist, author, speaker, mother, founder, and maker of public culture.
My practice explores the cultural systems that shape how we are seen — and how we come to see ourselves.
I am a mother, sister, partner, friend, and daughter from Brooklyn, New York.
My work exists across many forms: ethnography, podcasting, film, fashion, event curation, alternative education and pandemic resilience.
I am interested in what we inherit from our cultural contexts, what we are taught to desire and hide, and what becomes possible when we begin to trust our own inner authority.
I am the author of Total Market American: Race, Data, and Advertising (Duke University Press, 2025), a study of how the American advertising industry turns racial classification into a commercial instrument, and coauthor of The Nameplate: Jewelry, Culture and Identity (Penguin Random House, 2023), a celebration of nameplate jewelry and the people who make, wear, and cherish it. I am the co-founder of Rosa-SalasFlower, a research consultancy, and co-host of the Top Rank podcast.
Above all, I believe we each embody infinite possibility.
what i offer
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I design & deliver talks, workshops, and public conversations on race, advertising, identity, adornment, belonging, and creative authority.
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I write books, essays, expert reports, and commissioned pieces that bring anthropology into conversation with everyday life. I also collaborate with Isabel Flower on select projects.
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I create and facilitate spaces for conversation, learning, and reflection - from intimate workshops, and performances to larger public programs.
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I offer talks, workshops and mentoring on healing wounds about external validation, instilling skills to bolster self-trust, creative courage, and reclaiming one’s inner authority.
press & credentials
as seen in
Hypebeast
“The Nameplate Chronicles the Layered History of Nameplate Jewelry”
The Guardian UK
“From hip-hop to Carrie Bradshaw: what's in a nameplate necklace?”
The Sick Times
“These artists are making concerts safer with COVID-19 precautions”
Ethnic & Racial Studies
Book review of Total Market American
background
PhD, Cultural Anthropology
New York University · Ford Foundation Fellow · Wenner-Gren Grantee
Assistant Professor, Marketing
University of Illinois Chicago
Culture Marketer
Red Bull · Creative agencies & brands
BA, Africana Studies
University of Pennsylvania · Phi Beta Kappa
say hello
There's a real person on the other end of this — hi, it's me. :) I read everything that comes through and write back, usually within a few days. No bots, no auto-reply into the void.