Bio
Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor of Military & Strategic Studies at the U.S. Air Force Academy and a Nonresident Fellow with the Modern War Institute at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. I received my PhD in Political Science from the George Washington University in Washington, DC, where I also served as a PhD candidate-in-residence with the Institute of Security and Conflict Studies.
My research on the causes and consequences of violence has been supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the United States Institute of Peace and the Minerva Research Initiative, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Cosmos Club Foundation, the Bridging the Gap Project, the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, the Les Aspin ’60 Summer Fellowship, and the Georg W. Leitner Program in International and Comparative Political Economy at Yale. My PhD dissertation, The Logic of Coercive Kidnapping, received the American Political Science Association's 2021 Merze Tate Award for the Best Dissertation in International Relations, Law, and Politics.
Before beginning my doctoral work, I served four years on Capitol Hill including as a Senior Legislative Assistant and Appropriations Associate, and I have worked as a policy advisor on presidential and congressional campaigns.
In my spare time, I love to hike, ski, cook, and travel. I have completed several marathons and half-Ironman triathlons, and I am an indoor cycling instructor (Spinning(R), Coach-by-Color(R), and CPR/AED certified).
Education
The George Washington University (GWU)
- PhD in Political Science (2020)
- MA in Political Science (2016)
The London School of Economics (LSE)
- MSc in Comparative Politics: Nationalism & Ethnicity (2009)
Yale University
- BA, Ethics, Politics, & Economics (2008)
CV
Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor of Military & Strategic Studies at the U.S. Air Force Academy and a Nonresident Fellow with the Modern War Institute at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. I received my PhD in Political Science from the George Washington University in Washington, DC, where I also served as a PhD candidate-in-residence with the Institute of Security and Conflict Studies.
My research on the causes and consequences of violence has been supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the United States Institute of Peace and the Minerva Research Initiative, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Cosmos Club Foundation, the Bridging the Gap Project, the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, the Les Aspin ’60 Summer Fellowship, and the Georg W. Leitner Program in International and Comparative Political Economy at Yale. My PhD dissertation, The Logic of Coercive Kidnapping, received the American Political Science Association's 2021 Merze Tate Award for the Best Dissertation in International Relations, Law, and Politics.
Before beginning my doctoral work, I served four years on Capitol Hill including as a Senior Legislative Assistant and Appropriations Associate, and I have worked as a policy advisor on presidential and congressional campaigns.
In my spare time, I love to hike, ski, cook, and travel. I have completed several marathons and half-Ironman triathlons, and I am an indoor cycling instructor (Spinning(R), Coach-by-Color(R), and CPR/AED certified).
Education
The George Washington University (GWU)
- PhD in Political Science (2020)
- MA in Political Science (2016)
The London School of Economics (LSE)
- MSc in Comparative Politics: Nationalism & Ethnicity (2009)
Yale University
- BA, Ethics, Politics, & Economics (2008)
CV