I am an Associate Professor of Public Affairs and hold the Leadership Wisconsin Endowed Chair for the Division of Extension at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a political scientist, I conduct civically engaged research to explore how diverse communities engage contentious and complex public issues and the social and institutional contexts that shape civic engagement. I am the co-author of The Economic Other: Inequality in the American Political Imagination, which examines how Americans use social comparisons to make sense of income inequality and how such frames of reference affect attitudes about redistribution and feelings of political power. The book received the Juliette and Alexander L. George Outstanding Political Psychology Book Award from the International Society of Political Psychology in 2021. I am currently working on book-length project that examines community efforts to protect surface and groundwater quality in Wisconsin.
My other research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Behavior, Urban Affairs Review, Public Administration Review, and others. I currently serve on the editorial board of the American Political Science Review, on the advisory board of American Political Science Association’s Institute for Civically Engaged Research (ICER), and on the academic advisory board for CivicPulse. I received my Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a Postdoctoral Associate at Yale University’s Center for the Study of American Politics. I previously worked at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C.
You can read about some of my work and other commentary featured here:
“Brighter Economic Mood Isn’t Translating Into Support for Biden,” New York Times
“How long has Wisconsin been a swing state?,” Wisconsin Public Radio
“How coronavirus changes the political outlook in China and the U.S.,” Washington Post
“Trump Has a Gut Feeling About What Covid-19 Means for 2020,” New York Times
“‘Not the economy, stupid’: A majority of Americans say 2020 election will be about other issues,” CNBC
“Why the Economy Might Not Sway 2020 Voters,” New York Times
“Red-Hot Economy? Women Aren’t Convinced,” New York Times
“A surprising economic factor that could power presidential voting: The availability of mortgages,” Washington Post
“Sanders shouldn’t drop out for Clinton’s sake,” FiveThirtyEight
“20 years on, here’s how welfare reform held back immigrants’ children — in some states,” Washington Post, MonkeyCage
“Excluding Latino Immigrant Families from the Social Safety Net Hurts Their Children’s Educational Outcomes,” United States Policy and Politics Blog, London School of Economics
“Why We Should Care About Dark Money Ads,” Wesleyan Media Project
“Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Raises Concerns About Partisanship,” New York Times