My short CV is available as a PDF file.

Educational Background

MALS with concentration in Africana Studies, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

Teaching

I teach undergraduate courses on academic writing with the central goal of working with students to develop a strong, reproducible writing process. Using practices of close reading and annotation, free writing, research, and revision, students build their essays through the critical examination of “Cultural Identity in Global Contexts.” In 110, students explore the ways in which diverse cultures are represented in the media and popular culture. In 130, students explore the ways in which literary texts challenge (or contribute to) cultural oppression and the roles defined by it.

Selected Publications & Research

“How we keep ourselves from drowning: Sustaining and building communities (of care) through adjunct-centered WPA advocacy” article (Spring 2025): Williams, Christopher John, Rachael Benavidez, et al. (Vignette), WPAing in a Pandemic and Beyond: Revision, Innovation, and Advocacy, edited by Todd Ruecker and Sheila Carter-Tod, Utah State University Press.

“Incorporating Private Writing Digitally: Ownership, Autonomy, and Flow” at International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference (IWAC) (August 2021): Co-presented as a Workshop Leader at a pre-conference workshop to demonstrate an online application that captures the labor of private writing and introduce its application for writing-intensive classes across multiple disciplines.

Graduate Assistant Fellow at the Institute for Research on the African Diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean (IRADAC), CUNY Graduate Center (Spring 2013): Performed scholarly research on Black labor movements and legal precedents to assist Director of IRADAC with project for publication; recommended source citations for inclusion in publications; maintained publication list for source citation; and assisted at events.

“The Trickster: Performing, Passing, and Masquerading in ‘America:’ A Conversation between Carlyle Van Thompson and Rachael Miller Benavidez,” City SEEDs Fall 2011 Lecture Series, CUNY City College of New York CWE.

Professional Service

First Year Writing Committee (FYW) (Fall 2023 – Spring 2026)