I am an associate professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. I am also a Nonresident Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, and hold research affiliate appointments to poverty and inequality research centers at Columbia University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Kentucky, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Chicago.
My research examines intra and inter-generational economic outcomes across three overlapping themes: income and consumption volatility among low-income and disadvantaged families, analysis of U.S. income transfer policies and programs for low-income families, and the role of race and place as determinants of economic and policy outcomes. My work documents under-explored differences in exposure to income volatility across race, education, and family structure, along with longer-term persistence of social and economic conditions that have consequences across generations. I explore the factors that shape the well-being of families and children—including parental and spatial economic conditions, public policies, and varying forms of structural social and economic inequality. Throughout my work, I consider how safety net programs can act as buffers against exposure to economic risk.
At Georgetown, I teach courses on microeconomics and public finance. I currently serve as a co-editor at Contemporary Economic Policy, and I am a member of the American Economic Association’s Committee on Economic Statistics.