About me
I’m a researcher and writer based in the Bay Area of California.

This is my home for both work and personal writing. “Beyond Austerity” is my way of putting all my passions under the umbrella of austerity versus abundance: there are so many ways we accept scarcity, even amid vast amounts of wealth and consumption. Why?
I am passionate about education: how we fund it, why inequities in education are so entrenched (even naturalized), and what the avenues are for students, parents/guardians, and teachers to create meaningful change in education outcomes and the environments in which our children learn. I was an elected school board member for four years: 2018-2021, the most disruptive period in U.S. education. I am also the parent and aunt of kids in public schools, and have spent a lot of time around near-adults and young adults, as a school volunteer, school board member, and college lecturer.
My research training is in urban planning: I hold a Masters (UNC-Chapel Hill) and a PhD (UC Berkeley) in planning. My focus areas have been economic development (what can governments do to try to improve the quality of economic opportunity?); workforce development (how can we help people get good jobs and careers?); labor and class structures and processes; and public finance.
I am currently a Policy Research Specialist at the UC Berkeley Labor Center where I lead our research on the public sector. My most recent publication looks at the impact of technology on public sector work.