Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston. I have a joint PhD in Politics and Social Policy from Princeton University. I study representation and policymaking with a particular focus on American legislatures, money in politics, and state political institutions. You can find my work in outlets such as The Journal of Politics, The Quarterly Journal of Political Science, and The Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy.

My main research project at the moment is a book manuscript titled Paying for the Party: How Fundraising Demands Lead to Less Productive and Representative Legislatures (currently under review). The book explores the causes and consequences of growing party-driven fundraising demands in American legislatures. These party fundraising systems, which pressure lawmakers to raise and contribute money on behalf of their parties, have taken hold in many state legislatures as well as Congress. Leveraging original data from across the states, I provide evidence that party fundraising hollows out the policymaking capacity of legislatures and contributes to the underrepresentation of disadvantaged groups at the top of the party hierarchy. The dissertation on which the book is based was awarded best dissertation prizes by the Legislative Studies and State Politics & Policy sections of the American Political Science Association.

Other ongoing research projects cover such topics as rhetorical representation on social media by members of Congress, mechanisms of influence by interest groups, and the strategic use of conspiracy theories by political elites. More details can be found on the Research page of my website.