Research
My work examines individuals’ experiences with employment- both job loss and job changes- and how economic and social inequalities are reproduced via systemic constraints on employment mobility. In particular, I am interested in the employment experiences of Black workers in the American South. Though I have trained in quantitative and qualitative methods, I primarily use in-depth, semi-structured interviews to understand how varied experiences produce negative outcomes for Black workers. I also employ community-engaged research practices in my work. I value the opportunity to co-create knowledge with local communities in ways that accurately and authentically reflect the world as they experience it and hope it to become. Community-engaged research practices are an important component of my research toolkit and will remain a feature of my future scholarship.
I have received several competitive grants, through Duke University and external funders, to support my research. Most recently, I received funding to support my dissertation from Mathematica, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, and the National African American Child and Family Research Center at Morehouse School of Medicine.