I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Department of History, Political Science, Languages & Cultures at Otterbein University, where I teach courses in comparative and global politics. Prior to joining the faculty at Otterbein, I was a professorial lecturer in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. There, I co-founded the Gender & Sexuality Research Initiative. I am also a faculty affiliate of the Transatlantic Policy Center at American University in Washington, D.C.
I earned my Ph.D. in political science from the University of Florida (2021) with graduate certificates in European studies and gender studies. I have conducted extensive field research in Czechia, Slovakia, and Poland. From 2018-2019, I completed a Fulbright Research Grant while affiliated with the Faculty of Sociology at Masaryk University. I have also been awarded a Rothman Doctoral Fellowship in the Humanities from the University of Florida's Center for the Public Sphere (2018), the Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics (2019), a postdoctoral research grant from the Kosciuszko Foundation (2022), a research grant from the Transatlantic Policy Center at American University in Washington D.C. (2024), a Dean’s Research Award from the School of International Service at American University (2024), and an American Political Science Association Centennial Research Grant.
My research examines the politics of gender in Central Eastern Europe. Specifically, I examine the relationship between social movement actors and the state in Central Eastern Europe. My research has been published in Communist and Post-Communist Studies and Feminist Review. My current book project examines how gender equality activists frame their messages amid a growing movement opposed to feminist activism in the region.
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In the News & Writings section of my site you will find my articles on gender and politics published in Ms. Magazine and my commentary on political developments in Central Eastern Europe.