She runs the Forest Use, Energy and Livelihoods (FUEL) Lab at the Carolina Population Center which focuses on biomass reliance and human welfare, natural resource governance, and environment and poverty linkages. She has undertaken large-scale field projects in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa and is currently undertaking an evaluation of a private sector cookstove initiative in Rwanda. She has a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Indiana University and a Masters Degree in Forest Economics from the University of Alberta.