Sarah Jo Monaghan

Sarah Jo Monaghan (she/they) serves as an Assistant Professor of Costume Design & Technology at Western Washington University, bringing expertise shaped by extensive experience across Fashion, Repertory Theatre, Opera, Circus, and Burlesque disciplines.

Her academic foundation includes:

• MFA in Costume Design from the University of California, Irvine
• Post Graduate Certification in Creative Pattern Cutting from the University of the Arts, London College of Fashion
• Bachelor's Degree in Costume Design & Garment Technology from Western Washington University's Fairhaven Interdisciplinary College

Her professional practice emphasizes hands-on craftsmanship in pattern cutting and garment construction, with research interests spanning theatrical costume innovation, historical fashion adaptation, and experimental textile applications in performance contexts. She integrates circus and burlesque aesthetics into pedagogical approaches, focusing on wearable art as narrative expression.

Outside academia, she maintains a creative practice documented at sarahjomonaghan.com, balancing her role as a devoted cat mom with an enthusiastic pie-baking hobby and a notorious trail of sewing pins.