Her research areas include the study of music in art (music iconography), the Florentine lauda and music in devotional practice during the Italian Renaissance, performance practice, and women’s history on which she has completed two books, and numerous articles and lectures.  As a clarinetist, Powers has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C., among other places, and recorded chamber music for the BBC, Swedish Radio, and SMS Classical. From 2009-2018, Powers served as the University’s director of graduate studies during which time she oversaw the implementation of graduate student services and university infrastructure building supported by $5 million in federal grant funding from the U.S. Dept. of Education. The program’s accomplishments were honored in 2016 as the “What Works For Latino Students” award from Excelencia in Education, a Washington DC non-profit advocacy group.  She is now serving as the School of Music’s director.