Research
My research examines how social psychological processes—particularly implicit bias, threat perception, and moral judgment—interact with educational policies to shape disciplinary decision-making in K–12 and higher education. I investigate how educators, administrators, and the public interpret student behavior and make consequential judgments about punishment, credibility, and belonging, often under conditions of ambiguity. Through experimental and mixed-methods approaches, my work identifies how identity-based perceptions related to race, gender, and disability contribute to disparities in school discipline and broader patterns associated with the school-to-prison nexus.
A central aim of my scholarship is to bridge psychological theory with education policy and leadership practice. By examining how bias operates within institutional decision-making, I seek to inform evidence-based interventions that promote more equitable disciplinary systems. My research also extends to higher education, where I explore how policy structures and decision-making processes influence access, persistence, and opportunity for racially minoritized and historically excluded populations.
I am committed to producing research that is both rigorous and accessible. Whenever possible, I prioritize publishing in open-access venues and engaging in public scholarship, including policy briefs and practitioner-oriented writing, to ensure that my work reaches educators, policymakers, and communities beyond the academy.
My research has been supported by competitive national funding, including awards from the Spencer Foundation, the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine through the Ford Dissertation Fellowship. Through this work, I aim to advance interdisciplinary scholarship at the intersection of psychology, education, and policy while contributing to more just and equitable educational systems.