Welcome! I am a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the University of Michigan. I study comparative politics, specifically state and nation-building, authoritarianism, and political violence. My regional focus is Southeast Asia – Myanmar, Indonesia, and Thailand – where I have extensive area knowledge and fieldwork experience. I was a 2019-2020 United States Institute of Peace-Minerva Peace Fellow for my dissertation, ‘Remobilizing Resentment: Intrareligious Elite Polarization and Violence Against Religious Minorities During Myanmar’s Political Liberalization.’ My work appears in the Asian Journal of Comparative Politics and I have an article in revise and resubmit status for the Journal of Contemporary Asia.
Formerly, I was a Foreign Affairs Officer at the U.S. Department of State and led an inter-agency working group on election security and foreign aid during Myanmar’s historic 2015 elections. I also have an MPH and an MA in Southeast Asian Studies from the University of Michigan.