Collegiate Affiliation
Sociology

I am a cultural and political sociologist and doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of Minnesota. I study how communities construct citizenship and belonging during moments of crisis, and I examine how race and religion shape local politics. My dissertation, The Antiracist Church: Religion and the Paradox of Progress in Minnesota, draws on interviews and participant observation in Twin Cities faith communities after the murder of George Floyd. It traces how progressive congregations took up the work of racial reckoning. My solo-authored article from the project, “Inhabiting the White Church,” appears in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. My other published work appears in Social Problems and Sociology of Religion. I am also developing a book, Crisis and Reckoning: Race, Citizenship, and the Struggle for Equality in Minnesota.

My current research examines how congregations, mutual aid networks, and local governments in the Twin Cities responded to federal immigration enforcement. I am extending this work to the politics of policing and affordability in California in the years leading up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. I also contribute to mixed-methods collaborative projects on policing, immigration, and religion in public life, including analyses of American Mosaic Project survey data on religion, partisanship, and racial ideology. My research has received support from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, the American Sociological Association, the University of Minnesota Graduate School, the Lilly Endowment, and the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center. I am an award-winning teacher and public sociologist, and I have contributed commentary to the Urban Institute, Minnesota Public Radio, Connecticut Public Radio, The Conversation, and The Society Pages. I plan to defend my dissertation in May 2027.

Educational Background & Specialties
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Educational Background

  • MA: Sociology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 2022
  • BA: Metropolitan Studies, Social and Cultural Analysis, New York University, 2019

Specialties

  • Race
  • Religion
  • Culture
  • Organizations
  • Social Movements
  • Urban Studies