Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science, a Resident Fellow in the Institution of Social and Policy Studies, and the Faculty Director of the Millstone Fellowship in Public Service at Yale University. 

 

I study American political institutions and their role in policymaking under separation

of powers, with a focus on the political control of the bureaucracy. My book project, 

Unconfirmed Power, investigates how presidents strategically use vacancies and acting appointees to promote their policy priorities and unilaterally govern. My work has been published in the American Political Science Review and Presidential Studies Quarterly. I also have research in progress that examines the policy and political implications of acting appointees; interest group and Congressional oversight of vacancies; and political control of independent agencies.

 

I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 2019.

My dissertation received the 2021 E. E. Schattschneider Award for best dissertation in American government from the American Political Science Association and the 2020 George C. Edwards III Award for best dissertation on executive politics from APSA’s Presidents and Executive Politics Section. I also hold an M.P.A. in Public and Economic Policy from the London School of Economics and B.A.'s in Political Science and Economics from UCLA.