The Center for Linguistic Health

My work exists at the intersection of language, perception, and human experience as an evolving inquiry shaped by both academic research and sustained engagement with communities navigating trauma, transition, and transformation. From early programs rooted in narrative reconstruction to the broader linguistic frameworks that now inform Lingwell and The Iona Initiative, this has been a path of continual deepening: asking harder questions, developing better tools, and finding ways to make meaning where language often falters.

At its core, my research asks:

• How does language structure perception and identity?
• What happens at the limits of articulation—when language breaks down?
• How do inherited linguistic frameworks shape memory, emotion, and belonging?

These questions have led me through academic study, collaborative practice, and the development of language-based interventions designed to serve real people in real time.

Early Projects: Narrative as Reconstruction
My first major initiatives explored language as a means of reclaiming agency and coherence in the face of dislocation:

• Writer Corps — Structured narrative processing for veterans navigating reintegration
• The Lavinia Project — Writing workshops for survivors of sexual violence focused on reclaiming language as a form of agency
• Nuestros Voces — A storytelling project for immigrants and activists working at the crossroads of displacement and identity
• The Concertina Effect — A study on incarceration and the role of narrative in justice reform and return

Though distinct, these efforts shared a common question: How does reworking language help rework the self?

Toward a Linguistic Framework
As the work matured, it evolved from discrete interventions into a more unified framework focused on the foundational structures of language and consciousness. This inquiry has been shaped by key thematic pillars:

• The Linguistic Threshold — The point at which symbolic language creates existential anxiety
• Harm & Unharm — A philosophical model that sees suffering not as a deviation, but as an elemental part of human existence
• Forest Consciousness — An exploration of relational, nonverbal awareness as a counterbalance to linguistic over-dominance

These evolving theories now underpin much of the programming and design philosophy behind Lingwell and The Iona Initiative.

Current Projects: Applied Inquiry
Today, my research and creative work are integrated into a broader applied ecology of offerings:

• Lingwell — A Digital Language Companion that guides users through reflective, expressive dialogue in moments of inner difficulty
• The Iona Initiative — A methodology for group-based linguistic processing, community narrative work, and public meaning-making
• Stations — A site-specific art and language project exploring loss, impermanence, and the poetics of attention
• The Center for Linguistic Health — A practice-based research lab advancing the field of Linguistic Health across disciplines and sectors

Each of these projects is animated by a shared belief: that language is both structure and salve. It shapes how we hurt, how we hope, and how we come to understand what it means to be human.

If these questions speak to your work or your wondering, I invite you to reach out. This is research meant to be lived, practiced, and shared.not a niche. It is an emerging necessity. And the Center is here to grow it.