Photo credit: Benn Craig, Belfer Center

Welcome! I am a PhD Candidate in the Political Science Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From fall 2019, I will be a pre-doctoral fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. 
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My research seeks to understand the domestic drivers of states' international behavior, with a focus on China and the Asia-Pacific. In my dissertation, I develop and test a theory that explains when and why local leaders in China participate in economic coercion. My research has been supported by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, the Confucius China Studies Program, and the Center for International Studies at MIT.
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I received a Master's degree in International Affairs from Yale University and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Journalism from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I was previously a Peace Corps Volunteer in Fuling, China.​​​​​

Photo above: Xi'an, Shaanxi

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