Biography

I study the politics of immigration and diversity in rich democracies. Recent immigration gives fresh urgency to perennial questions: the meaning of citizenship, the role of the state in reducing or reinforcing inequality, and the reasons for stability and change in inter-group relations. I address these questions using interviews, comparative analysis, observational and experimental data.
I was granted a Ph.D. in political science by UC Berkeley in December 2011. My dissertation examined why some foreign residents in Germany and Austria become citizens while others do not. The title is: ‘Citizenship Begins at Home: How Families Shape Migrant Incorporation.’ I am also working on the electoral impact of immigrant political candidates, the returns to naturalization, and the links between inter-group attitudes and preferences on US health policy.

At Berkeley I taught classes on immigration and citizenship, empirical methods, comparative politics and political economy. I have also studied in Berlin and Oxford.