About me

I am an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Formerly, I was a NIA Postdoctoral Fellow with the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan and completed my Ph.D. in Public Policy at Cornell University in 2021.

As a sociologist of public policy, a central motivation of my research is understanding how social values and norms become institutionalized in systems of governance. I am particularly interested in the role of the state in shaping health, poverty, and social inequality. I use multiple methodological and disciplinary approaches to study the U.S. welfare state, including archival research on the historical development and politics of policymaking, in-depth qualitative interviews with individuals who participate in the public-private safety net, and quantitative research on the spatial distribution and sociodemographic impact of safety net policy.

My primary line of research focuses on the Community Health Center (CHC) program, which has provided free or reduced-cost primary care to underserved populations since the War on Poverty. Relatedly, another area of my research examines the growth and impact of federal place-based policies, which target areas of concentrated disadvantage. I also study the demographic connections between family, gender, race/ethnicity, and public policy.

To date, my work has been published in outlets including Social Problems, Social Forces, Social Science & Medicine, Population Research and Policy Review, and Journal of Marriage and Family. I have received support from funders such as the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy and the Fahs Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation, as well as recognition for the Best Comparative Policy Paper Award from APPAM and the Ronald Burt Outstanding Student Paper Award from ASA's Economic Sociology Section.

You can view my CV here.