About Me

I am a sociologist and demographer who uses quantitative data and methods to examine the intersection of family life with the criminal legal, immigration, and child welfare systems in the United States (US). I am an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst).

Prior to joining the UMass Amherst community, I completed my PhD in Sociology in the Departments of Sociology and Policy Analysis & Management at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. My dissertation, Institutions in Childhood and the Transition to Adulthood in the United States: The Consequences of Criminal Justice and Child Welfare System Contact, consisted of three investigations of the the intersection of family life with the criminal legal and child welfare systems in the U.S. Before beginning my graduate studies, I was a member of the research team at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research in Washington, DC where my work focused on detailing gender, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic inequality in economic security and labor market experiences in the U.S. I am an alum of Wellesley College, where I focused my studies on economics and French.

Outside of my academic and professional work, I enjoy cooking/baking, reading, yoga, making handmade cards, foraging, and hiking. Recently, this includes listening to LeVar Burton Reads and the Annex Sociology Podcast; exploring new woods and trails stewarded by the Trustees of Reservations; and listening to “Industry” by Lil Nas X, “Longing,” Movement II of Dobrinka Tabakova’s Concerto for Violoncello and Strings, and “Storm” by Otyken.