Welcome

I am a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2024, I will be an postdoctoral Academy Fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. My research and teaching interests include political sociology, political economy, public policy, culture, qualitative methods, and social networks.

My dissertation investigates the impacts of policy careers, social networks, and the revolving door on policymaking processes. I use ethnographic methods, sequence analysis, and social network analysis to understand how career trajectories, social ties, and cultural schemas shape the ways that policy professionals (e.g. public officials, lobbyists, lawyers, experts, etc.) diagnose policy problems and solutions. I trace how these micro-level processes impact interest group influence and policy outcomes. In particular, I focus on the trade policymaking process and how regulatory principles are negotiated. My research has been published in Socio-Economic Review, received awards from the American Sociological Association sections on Political Sociology and Organizations, Occupations and Work, featured in The New York Times and The American Prospect, and cited by think tanks and members of Congress.

I have taught classes in introductory sociology, methods, policymaking process, and socio-legal studies at UW-Madison and American University. Prior to academia, I worked in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. I hold a M.S. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an A.B. in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University.