A widely published author with interests in African-American culture and music, sacred and secular rituals in Africa and the Diaspora and the roots of jazz in rural and coastal Louisiana, she was the co-curator (with J. Nash Porter) of a Smithsonian exhibit titled, "New Orleans Black Mardi Gras Indians: Exploring a Community Tradition from an Insider's View." She received a National Endowment for the Arts Heritage and Preservation grant for "Rockin' for a Risen Savior: The Louisiana Easter Rock Ritual." She served from 2002-2006 as the director of the LSU in Senegambia Study Abroad Program. From 2010-2011 she served as president of the Louisiana Folklore Society.