About Me

I am a senior research fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) where I am Interim Deputy Director of the CGIAR Science Program on Food Frontiers and Security and Interim Lead of CGIAR research on Fragile and Conflict-Affected Food Systems. I have previously led multiple research programs in the CGIAR on fragility, conflict, migration, and gender. I am also a Lecturer in Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University.

I received my Ph.D. in Political Economics and my M.A. in Economics from Stanford University, where I was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in Economics. I also hold a B.Sc. in International Political Economy from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

My research focuses on the linkages between governance, fragility, gender, and poverty. One strand of work investigates the impacts of government policies and public sector incentives on poverty, food security, women’s empowerment, and individuals’ attitudes and aspirations. A second considers the drivers of women’s voice and influence beyond the household, considering the roles of policies, interventions led by NGO and civil society actors, climate change, and economic shocks.

I have designed and carried out surveys and field experiments in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Tanzania, Mali, Malawi, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kenya, and Papua New Guinea in collaboration with various international agencies including the World Bank, the IGC, GIZ, 3ie, WVI, ActionAid, and USAID, as well as with government and local NGO partners.

I serve as co-editor of the CGIAR’s EnGendering Data Blog. I am also a member of the Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP) network and serve on the Executive Committee of the Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations Section of the American Political Science Association (APSA). In 2023, I co-led IFPRI’s flagship annual publication, the Global Food Policy Report, on the topic of Rethinking Food Crisis Responses.”

My work has been published in journals including the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Public Economics, the Journal of Development Economics, Nature Climate Change, the Journal of Health Economics, World Politics, Economic Development and Cultural Change, and World Development. It has also been featured in the Economist, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and NPR, and cited by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

You can find my CV here.

Grants and Awards

  1. 2024 Duncan Black Prize, Public Choice Society

  2. American Political Science Association Deil S. Wright Best Paper Award, Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations Section, 2021

  3. CGIAR Gender Platform Methods Module Grant, “Empowerment Beyond the Household: Measuring and Comparing the Collective Agency of Groups and Individuals” ($250,000), 2021-2022

  4. CGIAR Gender Platform Evidence Module Grant, “Promoting Women’s Empowerment in Value Chains in Papua New Guinea and Cambodia” ($200,000), 2022

  5. CGIAR Gender Platform Methods Module Grant, “Gender in Rural Institutions and Governance: A Review of Existing Tools” ($40,000), 2021-2022

  6. EGAP, “Overcoming Barriers to Women’s Political Participation through Advocacy Training: A Field Experiment on Local Governance in Nigeria” ($320,000), 2020-2022

  7. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), “Using Experiential Learning Tools with Women and Men to Achieve Sustainable Water Governance in India” (1,200,000 Euros), 2020-2022

  8. International Growth Centre (IGC), “Mechanisms for Increasing the Accountability of Teachers and Schools in Rural Pakistan to Improve Learning Outcomes” (191,000 GBP), 2016-2019

  9. U.S. Agency for International Development Conflict & Development Center, “Mechanisms for Strengthening Accountability to the Rural Poor: Evidence from Public Expenditures in Mali” ($40,000), 2015-2016

  10. Lead P.I., 3ie Social Protection Thematic Window Grant, “Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Community-Based Conditional Cash Transfer Program in Tanzania” ($612,000), 2012-2016

  11. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Strategic Innovations Fund Award ($50,000), 2012

  12. Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) Dissertation Fellowship, 2010 – 2011

  13. Best Paper Award, NYU Alexander Hamilton Center for Political Economy Conference, 2008

  14. National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (Economics), 2006 – 2010

  15. Fulbright Fellowship, 2003

  16. Outstanding Undergraduate Honors Thesis Award (School of Foreign Service), 2003

  17. Toyota Community Scholars Award ($20,000 scholarship recognizing community service), 1999-2003

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Research