My work focuses on language, education & migration.
This focus takes me into schools in the United States, where newcomers navigate a focus on English, as well as to Uganda and Rwanda, where multilingual realities at school come up against monolingual policies and practices.
I undertake qualitative and mixed-methods research to inform education policy and practice.
I am an Assistant Professor of Education and International Development at Florida State University, with a dual appointment in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, and the Learning Systems Institute.
My research related to language, education, and migration has been generously funded by the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, and the TIRF Doctoral Dissertation Grant, among others.
It has also been recognized through a variety of awards, including the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Language Issues SIG at the Comparative and International Education Society, and the Bridging the Gap Policy Outreach Award for its pressing relevance for education policy globally.
I received a PhD in Education from Harvard University, an Ed.M. in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and an M.Ed. in TESOL from Lehman College.
Projects and publications
Through a variety of qualitative methods including in-depth interviews, ethnographic observations, and document analysis, I seek to understand the relationship between language and education in contexts of migration.
Teaching and mentoring
At heart, I am a teacher. I began my career in education as a high school teacher with newcomers in New York City, early experience that continues to shape my approach to teaching, mentorship, and research in schools and universities.