She received her bachelor’s degree in engineering from UC Berkeley and her doctorate in political science from UC San Diego. Before joining the faculty at UMKC, she previously taught at the University of South Carolina. She teaches introductory through graduate-level comparative politics courses, and in 2015 was the recipient of the UMKC College of Arts & Sciences Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award. Her main research interests include the politics of economic development and democratization. She has done field research in Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, and Chile. Her current work examines how variation in political microfoundations drives variation in economic development policy and how collective dilemmas constrain institutional choice. She has two children, ages 17 and 14, and she enjoys yoga, travel, reading, and swimming.