During 2014-2015, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University. Her research interests include transnational advocacy, international food security, economic and social rights, and global governance. She received her PhD in Political Science from the George Washington University in August 2014 and hails from Fresno, CA, where she completed her BA at Fresno State through the Smittcamp Family Honors College.