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.