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.

Research Expertise and Consultation


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.

Teaching Approach