Hometown 

Tucson, Arizona 

Educational/professional background  

Economics and Public Policy, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor 

Previous position  

Postdoctoral Associate, Better Government Lab, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University 

What types of questions do you address in your research?  

I study how U.S. safety net programs mitigate or exacerbate economic instability using administrative data. In particular, I have considered implications of work requirements, issuance timing, income verification, and program linkages on outcomes including safety net attachment, employment, and household spending. 

How did you get interested in this field?  

I was drawn to economics because it provides a quantitative structure for considering social problems that are observable in my community. As a young person interested in public policy, it seemed like economics had eclipsed policy analysis, making it a pragmatic field of study. More generally though, working as a Research Assistant at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors helped me realize a passion for research. I really enjoy working on long-term, in-depth projects, communicating findings across contexts, and building a body of work with policy implications. 

What attracted you to the La Follette School?  

The interdisciplinary faculty, project-based/capstone courses, affiliation with the Institute for Research on Poverty, and commitment to bettering our state and local community. 

How does your research intersect with policymaking?  

I hope my research will have direct policy implications. My work to date explores existing policies or past policy reforms, but I hope to work on emergent policy topics in the future. For example, in a current work in progress, we partner with Alameda County Health to forecast and monitor effects of ongoing changes to the Medicaid program for immigrant families. As an Inaugural PIR Fellow , I look forward to contributing to a growing network of researchers who prioritize public impact research to address persistent social problems with community partners.

What is your approach to teaching?  

A work in progress! I am excited to be teaching PA 881, where student groups work for real-world clients to produce a requested Cost Benefit Analysis. This class exemplifies the public impact research values described above, and it’s also a lot of fun to support students developing recommendations for actual community partners. My goal as an instructor is to foster intellectual curiosity and ownership of material, but as a new faculty member, I look forward to honing my course materials over time. 

What’s something interesting about your area of expertise that you’re excited to share with students?  

Institutional details and complexity are important to understand! So much policy making is not immediately visible, or even intentionally invisible, to the public but can have meaningful effects on daily life. 

What are you reading/watching currently?  

Some recent books I really enjoyed include “All Fours” by Miranda July, “I Who Have Never Known Men” by Jacqueline Harpman, and “Flashlight” by Susan Choi. Australian Survivor is the best thing to watch after a long, tiring day (long live King George!). 

Hobbies/other interests 

I love to be outside biking, running, or rock climbing. I also love to cook elaborate meals, watercolor paint landscapes, charcoal draw figures, and lose myself in a book (fiction for life!).