I recently completed my PhD at Temple University in Philadelphia. My research and teaching interests are in the areas of American political institutions, legislative behavior, and public policy. I approach these areas using both quantitative and qualitative methodology and text analysis.
The purpose of my dissertation, Congress and Immigration Policy: A Study of the Member-level Motivations and Agenda Setting Strategies Surrounding Immigration Reform, is to unpack a micro- and macro-level behavioral quandary: the constraint of member-level motivations on majority party agenda setting strategies, which exist in policy contexts that generate internal divisions within political parties. In particular, I do this through the lens of immigration reform, a policy domain that does not necessarily map onto a left-right party divide.
I am a 2018 Congressional Research Grant recipient from The Dirksen Congressional Center; I have a forthcoming co-authored paper in Party Politics, “Time Dependent Legislative Behavior and Election Outcomes,” with Ryan Vander Wielen.
I received my M.A. in Political Science from Temple University after receiving my M.P.P.A and B.A. in Political Science from California Lutheran University.