I research how institutional policy and practice affects individual and family outcomes.

My overarching research goal is to develop a holistic framework of how working people navigate low-to-middle income jobs, child-serving institutions, home life, and social forces across the community. I use a variety of research methods and a critical theoretical framework. My research informs policy and practice to pursue social justice for people experiencing systemic oppression. 

My Current Research Priorities

  • In six years of field work with low- and middle-income healthcare workers, I have heard too many stories of institutional discrimination and listened to the terrible impact these experiences have on people’s well-being. I am currently working to publish analyses of these stories to add more evidence about the importance of workplace equity. I am working with other scholars around the country to propose new research to move toward structural interventions. In my practice, I am collaborating with other labor activists to promote workplace equity in my own community.

  • As a co-investigator for the Pittsburgh Wage Study, I continue to analyze 5 years of mixed-methods data from low-paid workers in Pittsburgh to understand how wage increases affect the lives of low- and middle-income working families - for better and worse. Visit the PittsburghWageStudy.pitt.edu for more information and check out my publications page to learn more.

  • When I was an elementary school teacher I noticed that workplace policies often created barriers for parents to be involved in their children’s schooling. Meanwhile, we as educators seemed to have expectations that ignored parents’ need to work. I am working on developing a line of research will shed light on what I think is a policy blind spot: how parents experience the intersections of work- and school-based policies and practices. I am analyzing my own qualitative data as well as quantitative data from here in Detroit and nationally in collaboration with the Detroit Partnership for Education Equity & Research and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, respectively. Stay tuned!

My Journey

My research and practice are inspired by my years of experience researching and working in academic and community settings. Before I earned my doctorate in social work from the University of Pittsburgh, I worked as an elementary special educator as well as on an NIMH-funded study of group home care for children with mental health challenges and behavioral disorders. Over the years I have worked in a variety of paid and volunteer positions in a diverse range of helping fields including domestic violence advocacy, English language education, community program development, therapeutic foster care, and union organization. In all of these fields,

I have seen how policy and practice can either support or create barriers to child and family well-being. I continue to be concerned about the lack of supports for families, particularly those working low- to middle-income jobs and who endure discrimination based on their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, and/or (dis)ability. 

Thus, my research centers the experience of the workers and applies critical theories to develop solutions that support the well-being of the workers and their families. Centering their experiences and perspectives allows me to amplify working parents’ stories and further advocacy work to develop solutions that support the well-being of the workers and their families. Specifically, my overarching research goal is to develop a holistic framework of how working people navigate low-to-middle income jobs, child-serving institutions, home life, and social forces across the community. By applying a social work lens to an interdisciplinary literature base, my research informs policy and practice to pursue social justice for underpaid workers and their families who experience oppression. 

I currently work as an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Wayne State University. I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Health Policy and Administration from Pennsylvania State University and my Master’s of Arts in Teaching from North Carolina State University. I earned my Master’s of Social Work, my PhD in Social Work, and a doctoral certificate in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

Learn More

About my Research Expertise

I am available for research consultation and media contacts based on my areas of expertise.

You can find more information on my experience and areas of expertise here.


About my Teaching

I teach policy and social justice courses at the School of Social Work at Wayne State University.

Like in all areas of my social work practice, I approach my teaching from a critical, feminist social work perspective. I recently won the 2022 Teacher of the Year Award, as nominated by my incredible students. 

You can learn more about my teaching background and what to expect as a prospective student here.