Background

About me

I hold a Ph.D (2011) in Political Science from Brown University, an M.A. (2003) degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Miami, and a B.A. (1999) in Interdisciplinary Studies from Long Island University. My research has been supported through several grants and fellowships, including from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and the Ford Foundation and National Academies of Science, among others.

As a first-generation college graduate, I am committed to and passionate about teaching. I currently teach courses about crime, urban politics, the War on Drugs and illicit markets, state-criminal relations, governance by armed non-state actors in settings of crime and war, and urban violence.

I serve on the Editorial Board of Urban Affairs Review, participate in efforts by the American Council of Learned Societies to advance diversity in academia, and engage in spaces that bring together academics, policymakers and practitioners to discuss and debate ways to reform the criminal justice systems in both developed and developing world regions.