I am a researcher, evaluator, and writer trained in medical anthropology and public health. I am interested in critical, social justice-oriented work that brings together research, creativity, and practice. Whether using qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods approaches to research, I aim to center marginalized communities and equitable solutions in all that I do.

I am passionate about storytelling and accessible communication around structural issues, science, and public health. I am proud to be a 2023 Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project and AcademyHealth, working to contribute my voice to discussions on advancing health equity and justice.

I completed my PhD in medical anthropology in 2021 at UC San Diego. For my dissertation, I collaborated with a community-based refugee organization and healthcare practitioners to design and evaluate a community-based vaccine education program. This work, which was supported by a Fletcher Jones Dissertation Fellowship, emphasized the influence of structural issues on vaccination and how funding practices and epistemological tensions impact the potential of community-driven interventions to advance equity.

I have also worked as a community health specialist and research consultant for community-based organizations. This work has included designing and conducting community surveys, developing health outreach programs, grant writing, and developing marketing materials and annual reports. As part of this work, I also had the privilege of being a member of a collaborative team that was one of five finalists in the 2022 $5M XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling competition. As part of this project, we developed a community health worker training program in San Diego with an emphasis on supporting underserved immigrant and refugee communities.

After completing my PhD, I received T32 fellowship support from the National Institutes of Health to work as a postdoctoral researcher in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health at UC San Diego. As a postdoctoral researcher, I worked on various COVID-19 related projects with a focus on the impact of the pandemic on marginalized communities including people who inject drugs, immigrants and refugees, and people with disabilities. I am currently leading research and evaluation efforts at the National Environmental Health Association, collaborating with academic colleagues, and working in solidarity with local organizations in San Diego, California. 

Outside of work, I like playing video games, reading science fiction and fantasy books (as I dream of one day writing one of my own!), swimming, and hanging around the house with my partner and our two dogs.