I received a joint Ph.D. in public policy and political science from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. Prior to joining the faculty at Cal Poly Humboldt in 2013, I was a visiting assistant professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, as well as a research analyst with the Indiana University Public Policy Institute. I hold a J.D from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and a B.S. from UC Berkeley.

Broadly, my research focuses on law, policy, and the environment. Some examples of my research include: the impacts of environmental voluntary programs on facility compliance and regulatory behaviors, social construction of disability as a stigma and its effects on American case law, and impacts of a regulatory patchwork of state laws on the future of coal ash. I also work on various interdisciplinary research projects. Dr. John Meyer (Politics) and I have a forthcoming publication in Environmental Politics; this project, using R to organize and analyze 1,007 full-text articles, provides a critical examination of the last three decades of scholarship in the field of environmental politics. In addition, Dr. Chelsea Teale (Geography) and I have a forthcoming publication in Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. Again, utilizing R, this project analyzes historical records for five pollen taxa in order to assess regional trends and deepen understanding of land-use history in northeastern North America.

I have taught courses in areas of law and policy, legal processes, American politics, environmental policy and politics, and research methods. My teaching interests are primarily in the areas of law, policy, the environment, and research methods.

I am also the pre-law advisor for all Humboldt students.