Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University. I study American political institutions, with a focus on Congress and public policy. A central interest of my work is understanding how politics shapes the distribution of federal funding and the design of government assistance programs.
My main project is a book tentatively titled Politics by Formula: How Congressional Policymaking Creates Disparities (under contract with the Chicago Studies in American Politics series at the University of Chicago Press). While government programs may be intended to improve education or provide healthcare, I show that members of Congress treat them as opportunities to procure more funding for their constituents. Who wins and who loses out? I demonstrate that the answer is rooted in both the structure of Congress and the nature of our federal system.
I received a Joint Ph.D. in Politics and Social Policy from Princeton University in 2021 and a B.A. in Political Science from Carleton College in 2014. Prior to beginning my graduate studies, I worked as a research assistant on K-12 education policy at the Congressional Research Service.