Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. My research focuses on the development of punitive policies and institutions, how they serve as forms of racialized state control, and how communities resist state oppression.

My most recent book, Working As Intended, co-authored with Frank Baumgartner and Marty Davidson is forthcoming (Fall 2027) with the University of Chicago Press. In this book, we combine quantitative and archival analysis to push beyond documenting racial disparities in the North Carolina criminal legal system and show that they reflect the intent of the legislature rather than unexpected or unfortunate malfunctions of the system.

My current book project, The Making of a Punitive State, which won the Harvard Department of Government Robert Noxon Toppan prize for the best dissertation on a subject of political science, examines when and why the United States became punitive across a range of public services. In this work, I highlight that punishment is not, and has never been, confined to the criminal legal system and is instead a tactic used by the state across institutions as a form of social control of race-subjugated communities.

Some of my other research examines the history of school policing, the origins and modern enforcement of the North Carolina criminal code, and the death penalty. You can read more about my research and writing here.

I received my Ph.D. from the Department of Government at Harvard University in May 2023, where I was a Malcolm Weiner Scholar in Poverty and Justice. During the 2022-23 academic year, I was a Dissertation Research Fellow at the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2022, I graduated from the University of Chicago Law School with a Master of Legal Studies. I am a proud alum of the Borough of Manhattan Community College, Durham Technical Community College, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

When I’m not researching or teaching, I enjoy relaxing, making art, and exploring.