National Science Foundation
Postdoctoral Research Fellow Department of Political Science University of California, Santa Barbara 
Ph.D. Cornell University
Department of Government August 2018 I am a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow, pursuing research in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. My research focuses on how the growth of national partisan polarization interacts with state politics, intergovernmental relations, and the decentralization of policy implementation within American federalism. I examine the ways in which the goals and policy preferences of state party organizations vary from their national allies due to the unique demands placed on them by local constituents. I argue that this variation results in distinct and at times unexpected patterns of resistance and cooperation to national partisan pressure and creates opportunities for bi-partisan policy implementation in spite of polarization.
My postdoctoral work focuses on variation in partisan issue ownership within the states by examining the content of state legislative campaign websites. My dissertation, entitled "American Federalism and Partisan Resistance in an Age of Polarization" explored the potential for bi-partisan compromise between state and federal agents, arguing that variation in state partisan policy preferences and stronger inter-party competition for control of state institutions can encourage bi-partisan compromise between state and federal agents. I completed my Ph.D. at Cornell University in August 2018 under the guidance of Dr. Suzanne Mettler and Dr David Bateman. I received a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 2008. Prior to graduate school, I worked for a non-profit dedicated to raising awareness about down-ballot issues and state elections through the creation of digital resources for citizens including information on state open records and meetings laws, ballot measures, state legislative, executive and judicial elections and even state policy. |
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