He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he was a Regents Fellow. Erik’s research centers on civil rights advocacy in the United States. He has presented his research on the efforts of Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian American advocacy organizations at several academic conferences, in peer-reviewed journals, and he has contributed to a wide range of popular publications including Jadaliyya and Al Jazeera. His work has won the support of the National Science Foundation, the Richard Flacks Fund for the Study of Democracy, and the Center for New Racial Studies. Prior to joining the faculty at Dickinson, Erik lived and studied in Jerusalem, Cairo, and outside Kyoto. Since arriving at Dickinson, Erik has continued his research on civil rights advocacy as he prepares a book manuscript.