I am a lecturer and postdoctoral researcher working with Dr. Alan J. Daly in the Education Studies Department (EDS) at the University of California San Diego. I am also a lecturer in the Human Developmental Sciences program where I teach HDS 175: Power, Wealth, and Inequality in Human Development and a lecturer the EDS Joint Doctoral Program where I teach EDS 288: Advanced Research and Evaluation Methods.
I completed my Ph.D. in Education Studies at UC San Diego in June 2021. I earned my B.A. in History from Occidental College and then went on to teach high school social studies in the San Francisco Bay Area for seven years. During that time I completed an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Education with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction from Santa Clara University. I then left the classroom in 2014 to pursue an Ed.M. in International Educational Development at Teachers College, Columbia University. At TC, my interests centered around education in emergencies, namely education in crisis contexts in East Africa.
My current research focuses on the relationships between social networks, belonging, trust, identity, and well-being in K-16 contexts.
Some of my ongoing projects involve a mixed method study that explores teachers' social networks, feelings of belonging, and well-being at their school; a study examining antecedents and outcomes of undergraduate students' trust in their professors and feeling a sense of belonging in their college courses; a study investigating the evolution of student networks in university classrooms; a study examining the relationship between ego networks, well-being, and persistence in STEM fields during the transition from college to the workforce; and a research-practice partnership with an area school district.
When I am not working, I spend time with my spouse, our three children, and our boxer dog Ajax. I am also a lover of books—especially Haruki Murakami, M.R. Carey, Brandon Sanderson, and Josiah Bancroft novels—and a diehard fan of the San Francisco Giants and Chelsea Football Club (for better or worse).
I completed my Ph.D. in Education Studies at UC San Diego in June 2021. I earned my B.A. in History from Occidental College and then went on to teach high school social studies in the San Francisco Bay Area for seven years. During that time I completed an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Education with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction from Santa Clara University. I then left the classroom in 2014 to pursue an Ed.M. in International Educational Development at Teachers College, Columbia University. At TC, my interests centered around education in emergencies, namely education in crisis contexts in East Africa.
My current research focuses on the relationships between social networks, belonging, trust, identity, and well-being in K-16 contexts.
Some of my ongoing projects involve a mixed method study that explores teachers' social networks, feelings of belonging, and well-being at their school; a study examining antecedents and outcomes of undergraduate students' trust in their professors and feeling a sense of belonging in their college courses; a study investigating the evolution of student networks in university classrooms; a study examining the relationship between ego networks, well-being, and persistence in STEM fields during the transition from college to the workforce; and a research-practice partnership with an area school district.
When I am not working, I spend time with my spouse, our three children, and our boxer dog Ajax. I am also a lover of books—especially Haruki Murakami, M.R. Carey, Brandon Sanderson, and Josiah Bancroft novels—and a diehard fan of the San Francisco Giants and Chelsea Football Club (for better or worse).