Dr. O'Daniels is a teacher educator specializing in literacy studies. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2017. Her previous degrees include a B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education from the University of Missouri - Columbia and a M.A.T. in Communication Arts from Webster University. She holds current Missouri teaching certificates in Special Reading, K -12; Elementary Education, 1 - 6; and Spanish, K - 9, as well as a Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing. Prior to joining the UMSL faculty, she taught 4th grade in a Missouri public school and worked as a reading specialist at a community college.

Dr. O'Daniels teaches courses in literacy assessment and instruction in both face-to-face and online formats. She has designed and taught courses within both the traditional and alternative teacher preparation programs, as well as within the MEd program. She also serves as an advisor for students seeking advanced degrees, and she peer reviews online course designs for the Center for Teaching and Learning.

In addition to her teaching, Dr. O'Daniels directs the Gateway Writing Project, a local site of the National Writing Project. The Gateway Writing Project is a network of over 250 educators in schools across the St. Louis region who pride themselves in sharing expertise in writing across the curriculum; exploring new writing technology; promoting diversity, equity and social justice issues; building teacher leadership; and creating collaborative learning communities. In her work with the Gateway Writing Project, she intersects with classroom teachers and their students through professional development and youth writing activities.  

Dr. O'Daniels' research focuses on understanding how multimodal composition can be used to narrate and reshape places and spaces, especially within a critical literacy framework. She is also interested in the ways in which discourses of accountability impact teacher professionalism and the potential of teacher inquiry to promote professional development and leadership.