She began traveling to Louisiana to dance zydeco and two steps in Creole and Cajun dancehalls in the early 1990’s. As a preservation architect trained at Washington University in Saint Louis and Columbia University in New York she was deeply intrigued by the unique places of cultural expression and heritage. Over the next 15 years she studied and documented the cultural heritage of the Creole community and vernacular architecture in rural and small town Creole landscapes, including Richard’s, Slim’s and Hamilton’s, among others. She has presented her research at a number of conferences including VAF, APAL/HGA, ASA and P/ACA. And, somewhat fortuitously, one of her major projects during this time with the National Park Service was the preservation of Perseverance Hall, a historic Creole dance hall in New Orleans.