Meredith was born in East Point (a suburb of Atlanta), Georgia. She attended Woodward Academy and graduated from high school in 1988. In 1992, she graduated from The University of Georgia in Athens, with a Bachelor's degree in French Language and Literature, and taught elementary French for a number of years in Atlanta.
In 1995, she moved to New York in order to attend the graduate program in Linguistics at New York University (NYU). In 1998, she received her Master's Degree and spent some time teaching English as a Foreign Language, and French, in Slovakia and in France. In 2004, she received her Ph.D. in Linguistics (more specifically, Sociolinguistics) from NYU. She was an Assistant Professor of English at Utica College in New York State from 2003 to 2005, then moved to the west coast with her husband. From 2006 to 2016, she was a senior lecturer in the Department of English at Western Washington University, where she taught for the Department of Linguistics, Department of French, as well as for the Department for English Language Learners (ELL). In 2016, she and her husband moved back to the east coast, to Massachusetts, where she has always wanted to be! While at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Meredith taught courses on linguistics (Introduction to Linguistics, African American English), literature (Monsters), and several composition classes. She is currently the English Language Learners (ELL) Coordinator, and Grants Administrator for the Gardner Public Schools.
Meredith is a specialist in sociolinguistics, including sociophonetics, linguistic variation and change, sociolinguistic theory, African American English (AAE), and language & gender. Her publications have appeared in Language in Society, as well as in several books. In 2013, she received her certification to teach English Language Arts, English Language Learners, and French in the public schools.
Meredith lives in Worcester, Massachusetts, with her husband, Oliver de la Paz, and their three children, Lucas, Nolan, and Henry.
In 1995, she moved to New York in order to attend the graduate program in Linguistics at New York University (NYU). In 1998, she received her Master's Degree and spent some time teaching English as a Foreign Language, and French, in Slovakia and in France. In 2004, she received her Ph.D. in Linguistics (more specifically, Sociolinguistics) from NYU. She was an Assistant Professor of English at Utica College in New York State from 2003 to 2005, then moved to the west coast with her husband. From 2006 to 2016, she was a senior lecturer in the Department of English at Western Washington University, where she taught for the Department of Linguistics, Department of French, as well as for the Department for English Language Learners (ELL). In 2016, she and her husband moved back to the east coast, to Massachusetts, where she has always wanted to be! While at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Meredith taught courses on linguistics (Introduction to Linguistics, African American English), literature (Monsters), and several composition classes. She is currently the English Language Learners (ELL) Coordinator, and Grants Administrator for the Gardner Public Schools.
Meredith is a specialist in sociolinguistics, including sociophonetics, linguistic variation and change, sociolinguistic theory, African American English (AAE), and language & gender. Her publications have appeared in Language in Society, as well as in several books. In 2013, she received her certification to teach English Language Arts, English Language Learners, and French in the public schools.
Meredith lives in Worcester, Massachusetts, with her husband, Oliver de la Paz, and their three children, Lucas, Nolan, and Henry.