Education & Experience
I earned a B.A. in Sociology at the University of Central Arkansas, an M.A. in Sociology at the University of Arkansas (UARK), and a Ph.D. in Sociology (Health, Medicine, & Inequality) at the University of Missouri.
After completing my Ph.D. in 2018, I accepted a tenure-track Assistant Professor position at the University of Arkansas - Little Rock, in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. In 2020, I moved to Fayetteville to accept a tenure-track Assistant Professor position with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in the Department of Internal Medicine, working primarily with the Institute for Community Health Innovation. In 2025, I accepted my current position as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Arkansas.
Research Interests
I study social determinants of health and health disparities, with a focus on family and community. I am particularly interested in unequal exposure to stress across the life course, and how families and communities may buffer or exacerbate that stress. My expertise in social determinants allows me to study a wide range of health-related outcomes, such as vaccination, maternal health, depression, and food insecurity. My goal is to produce actionable insights that reduce disparities and improve health for all.
Teaching
Higher education is often viewed as a world apart from our material lives. After graduation, students are frequently told “welcome to the real world.” As a scholar of health and families, I reject the notion that the knowledge and ideas introduced in higher education must exist in a vacuum, inapplicable to everyday lives.
Central to my teaching philosophy is the belief that higher education should demonstrate to students the intimate experience of big ideas, and work to connect theories and concepts to those grounded lived experiences.
More about my teaching philosophy can be found on the teaching page which can be found by clicking the button below.
Why Arkansas?
I love the state of Arkansas--the people, the rivers, the mountains, the excitement of an upcoming Razorback season (even if the prior season broke our hearts).
I grew up here. As I grew, I was impacted by the same people and places I now aim to serve.
It is my home: the place I have chosen to put down roots and "stay more," as Donald Harington might say. I aim to leave it better and more beautiful than I found it.