Claire received her Bachelor's degree in Cultural Regional Studies with an emphasis on the U.S.Mexico border region from Prescott College. She also completed an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Arizona. Prior to teaching in the University setting, she worked in the environmental non-profit sphere, as well as organizing local literary reading events and serving as an editor for literary journals. Claire has taught Introduction to Poetry Workshop, and introductory composition courses prior to teaching in the UA Honors College. Claire has been the recipient of an Academy of American Poets Prize and the Minnie Torrence Award for Poetry, as well as a University of Arizona Foundation Award. Her poems have been published in The Columbia Review and for the Academy of American Poets. Claire's teaching and writing focus on contemporary American poetry, through an interdisciplinary lens. Her scholarly interests include the intersections of creative writing, the environment, sense of place, and identity. Claire teaches Honors poetry and creative writing courses in partnershiwith the University of Arizona Poetry Center, as well as the Catalyst seminar.