Research & CV

You can find my complete CV below.

My research emphasizes practical applications of psychological theory to understand educational and broader inequities. I am particularly interested in pinpointing the psychological, behavioral, and material processes that undergird inequity, as well as how key social forces (e.g., educators, peers, workplace policies) can shift these processes to better engage with marginalized communities. All of my work is grounded in critical historical perspectives on the experiences of marginalized people and communities, including Dr. Tara Yosso’s community cultural wealth framework.

One of my primary research interests centers on understanding the effects of strength-based approaches. Specifically, through close partnerships with a variety of K-12 schools, colleges, and universities, I have investigated the potential of educators and schools to more effectively facilitate students’ holistic success through recognizing the valuable strengths that students often gain as a direct factor of their lower socioeconomic status or otherwise marginalized backgrounds. More recently, I have begun to extend these insights across additional context (e.g., workplaces). In doing so, my work is built to advance social psychological theory regarding the varied forces that guide people’s access to opportunity across their lifetimes.

I recognize the incredible complexity of studying inequity given its deep roots across all layers of our societies, histories, and sociopolitical realities. To best understand this complexity, I incorporate a wide range of methods into my work. This includes longitudinal research-practice partnerships, structural equation modeling, person-centered analyses, and mixed-methods data collections.

I am deeply grateful to pursue this work alongside many wonderful collaborators, including Drs. Mesmin Destin, Régine Debrosse, Ivan Hernandez, and Josiah Rosario.