About Me

Raised in Upstate New York, I escaped the snow to attend Pepperdine University in sunny Malibu, where I studied English and applied mathematics and ran Division I track and cross country. During this time, I spent a summer as an AmeriCorps volunteer and worked to expand SNAP access at a farmers' market. This experience sparked my interest in food insecurity and economic inequality. ​

 

I then spent a year in Ann Arbor, working in immigration law, before returning home to study public policy at Rochester Institute of Technology. After earning my master's degree, I became a research director in the Department of Development at the University of Notre Dame, where I produced data-driven insights to inform philanthropic strategy and managed a team of researchers. My passion for evidence-based policy and nutrition assistance programs eventually led me to pursue a PhD at American University.​​  

 

True to my college English major and distance running roots, you can find me reading fiction, running, biking, hiking, or petting all the nearby cats and dogs when I'm not working on research projects.​