Her first book, Contesting Legitimacy in Chile: Familial Ideals, Citizenship, and Political Struggle, 1970- 1990 (University Park: Penn State Press, 2011), examines the mobilization of familial beliefs in Chilean political conflicts. Her published work examining women's political activism, women's presidencies in Latin America, and institutional change supporting gender equality has appeared in The Journal of Women, Politics and Policy; The International Feminist Journal of Politics; the ISA Compendium Project; and the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. She received the Elsa Chaney Award in 2007 from the Gender and Feminist Studies section of the Latin American Studies Association.