I am an Early Career Postdoctoral Fellow in the LBJ Public Affairs School at The University of Texas at Austin , studying the intersection of immigration, representation, and urban politics in U.S. municipalities. My dissertation investigated the impact of a seemingly nationalized electorate on local elite behavior on the issue of immigration and examines the strategic decision-making process by municipal officials that leads to inequality in representation for immigrant constituencies. 

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My research has been supported by the Princeton Bobst Center for Peace and Justice Dissertation Scholars Program, the Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, the Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, the APSA Centennial Center Research Grant, the APSA Fund for Latino Scholarship, and the UCLA Political Psychology Fellowship.

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I hold an MA in Political Science from UCLA and a BA in Political Science with a minor in Economics from The University of New Mexico. Outside of Academia, I enjoy long walks on the beach, painting in pastels and both red AND green chile, I can never pick just one!