Research

Feb. 2026 – Present

• Designed and executed mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) policy research projects relating to predatory lending, debt collection, coerced debt, insurance, and data privacy in the age of AI
• Utilized advanced statistical modeling, survey design, geospatial analysis, and focus group interviews to evaluate the impact of predatory lending and debt collection on Texan communities
• Directly engaged with the Texas State Legislature to advocate for improvements in fair financial services and consumer financial protection policies
• Developed novel data scraping and collection methods for state court administrative data
• Monitored and responded to emerging trends in the financial services sector, ensuring organizational advocacy remained ahead of market developments like AI-driven data collection
• Regularly engaged with a variety of Texas and multi-state policy coalitions to collaborate on strategy, policy formulation, and policy implementation

Oct. 2024 – Feb. 2026

• Conducted statistical analysis and data visualization in R, Python, SAS, and SQL across student-, campus-, district-, and state-level datasets to inform K-12 policy decisions while ensuring FERPA compliance
• Acted as the primary liaison between research and policy teams, producing policy briefs, advocacy one-pagers (school vouchers, teacher certification, postsecondary readiness), and testimony for committee hearings
• Partnered with legislative staff, advocacy organizations, and federal/state policymakers to advance data-driven K-12 reforms, including funding models, accountability measures, and readiness outcomes
• Engaged in lobbying with local, state, and federal public officials, including congressional offices in Washington, D.C., to advocate for education and workforce policy reforms
• Collaborated with the Department of Communications to create accessible reports, data summaries, and visual presentations that informed policymakers and the public on K-12 education issues

Jun. 2024 – Sep. 2024

• Conducted infrastructure policy research to identify regulatory vulnerabilities in California’s critical water and wastewater infrastructure through review of state and municipal water agency materials and related statutes
• Designed hypothetical incidents from domestic and foreign adversaries targeting vulnerabilities in infrastructure
• Formulated a war game for senior-level federal agency officials to emulate cascading crises in critical infrastructure

Mar. 2023 – Sep. 2024

• Assisted with the National Science Foundation Decision, Risk and Management Sciences project ”Collaborative Research: Responses to complex disruptive events: Cognition in a socio-political context” (2049796)
• Contributed to various research papers examining political participation in coastal communities negatively affected by climate change and social inequality
• Established as the lead contact on a paper exploring how one’s residency inside or outside city limits boundaries influences political participation
• Generated a 600,000+ observation Census block-level geospatial dataset and constructed statistical models examining political participation and demographics with respect to climate risk and municipal incorporation status
• Conducted fieldwork interviews in Brownsville, TX with local public officials, bureaucrats, activists, and residents
• Presented research at the 2024 Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Annual Conference

Jul. 2023 – May 2024

• Assisted with the National Academies’ National Cooperative Highway Research Program-funded project “Guidance for Implementing Equitable Transportation Decision-Making” (NCHRP 08-162)
• Conducted transportation policy research exploring how key organizational features and practices of state and regional transportation agencies facilitate or constrain equity in transportation policy decision-making
• Identified, secured, and produced written review of relevant academic literature, public agency materials, and appropriate data from online and public agency sources
• Assisted with constructing the equity evaluation framework and subsequent analysis in the NCHRP policy recommendation report

Jan. 2023 – Jul. 2023

• Conducted sub-national education policy research to advance computer science curriculum reform in the U.S.
• Compiled and analyzed national education enrollment and demographic data from a variety of public agencies
• Performed data analysis, data scraping, and data cleaning to help execute the organization’s state policy agenda
• Conducted a comparative analysis of state legislative education reform practices

• As a contributor
• Summary: comprehensive annual report that calls on advocates to revamp school curricula to align with the demands of the 21st century, including requiring that all students learn computer science
• Personal Contribution: school-level data collection on computer science curriculum requirements and aggregation of data to the district- and state-level for subsequent quantitative analysis

• As a co-author
• Summary: technical memorandum for state and regional transportation agency officials exploring how institutional features of these agencies influence equity in decision-making
• Personal Contribution: qualitative methodological design of equity framework and subsequent qualitative analysis of 32 state and regional transportation agencies