Curriculum Vitae

My experience in the field of education spans both the K-12 as well as postsecondary realms. After 3 years of very demanding work as a high school teacher outside of Boston, MA, I decided to transition to higher education to better understand the factors that could either enable or impede students in their preparation for and attainment of postsecondary education.

My master’s and doctoral coursework at both the University of Michigan and University of Virginia was augmented by a broad array of research and field experiences. I have gained valuable experience working collaboratively with a group of researchers at different higher education and social policy research institutions on projects that cover a wide breadth of topics concerning the P-16 college pipeline, college readiness initiatives, community colleges, and the implementation of state policy initiatives. As a result of these projects, I have become particularly interested in researching college readiness initiatives and other interventions that support student persistence throughout the P-16 pipeline.

My dissertation work qualitatively examined whether participation in a four-week developmental summer bridge program situated at a community college could prepare developmental students to succeed at four-year higher education institutions. Findings illuminated the value of such programs in bolstering underprepared and low-income student confidence and also revealed the value of providing institution-specific “college knowledge” that can help community college students to better understand the culture and intellectual norms so that they may successfully navigate the academic and social environment at a four-year institution.

Other current work examines college and career readiness state policy initiatives in Virginia and the experiences of underrepresented students in the biomedical physician-scientist pipeline.

Outside of my academic and professional life, I am an avid runner and can usually be found pounding the pavement in preparation for a marathon.