About Me

I grew up in Baltimore City on the Eastside. My mother, who was a nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital, was and remains my first and greatest source of inspiration. From her, I learned the power of focus and grit, and that the mind can be cultivated in spite of challenging circumstances. 

I left home and moved to Ann Arbor where I attended the University of Michigan. From there, I earned a bachelor's degree in political science. At that time, I was obsessed with all things Italian and earned a minor in that language, as well. After graduating, I moved to England and earned a master's degree in international studies from the University of Birmingham. I returned back to the US to finish my studies. In 2017, I earned a PhD in political science from Indiana University. 

My dissertation focused on understanding the security drivers of nuclear weapons proliferation in minor powers. In it, I conducted a comparative case analysis on the nuclear weapons programs of South Africa and North Korea. When I'm not thinking about militarization and nuclear weapons proliferation, you will likely find me pondering about and in nature.