I am an Assistant Professor of Policy Analysis and Management (PAM) and Sociology (by courtesy) at Cornell University. My research investigates the connection between structural inequalities and individual choices in the United States. How do selection processes reflect and reinforce racial and socioeconomic gaps in educational attainment, wealth accumulation, childhood health, and economic opportunity? How do micro decisions about neighborhoods and schools contribute to macro segregation and the persistence of inequality over time and between generations? And how are choices influenced not only by individual resources and preferences, but also by public policy and demographic context?

My work ultimately examines the promises and perils of market-oriented public policy, illuminating the conditions under which open choice expands opportunity for under-served populations, and when it exacerbates segregation and stratification. My publications and working papers engage three research areas:

1. Dimensions of inequality in parental housing and schooling decisions
2. The expression of social status hierarchies in market behavior
3. Economic insecurity and education policy

I hold affiliations with Cornell’s Center for the Study of Inequality and the Cornell Population Center. Before beginning my PhD in 2010, I worked as a high school math instructor and coordinator at Making Waves, a non-profit educational access program in Richmond, CA. I also spent one year abroad, teaching mathematics at Study Hall School and Prerna School in Lucknow, India. I completed my BA in Sociology from UC Berkeley in 2004.

Office Hours
I have limited availability during the 2020-21 academic year. Please email me for a Zoom appointment. Thank you for understanding.