I am a social policy scholar who studies the persistence of intergenerational inequality by race, ethnicity, and class. In the fall of 2022, I began as an Associate Policy Researcher with RAND Corporation. Much of my research focuses on describing how U.S. social policies stabilize, or destabilize, children’s lives. In recent studies, I examine the impacts of immigration enforcement and income instability on children’s test scores and attendance. I also used novel data from Louisiana to construct the first statewide longitudinal dataset of the early childhood education (ECE) workforce, which, with co-authors, I use to estimate turnover and returns to experience for ECE teachers.
I became interested in these topics at my first job out of college, as a fourth grade teacher in the Houston Independent School District. I then learned about the policy-making process as a legislative aide for Texas State Representative Dora Olivo, who served on Texas's House Public Education committee.
Beyond my academic research interests, I have a long-time interest in collaborating with government and non-profit partners. In my previous roles as an IES Postdoctoral Fellow with the School of Education & Human Development at the University of Virginia and as a Research Associate at The University of Texas at Austin, I have worked with the Louisiana Department of Education, Texas Education Agency (TEA), the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), and Texas Office of the Attorney General’s Child Support Division.
I have a B.A. in History and English from Rice University, a MPA from Indiana University-Bloomington, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Duke University.
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