Speciality: Sociology
Research Interests: Race; Education; Crime; law; and Deviance, Poverty, and Ethnography
My research broadly examines the micro effects of large-scale social and economic policies on poor communities. I investigate what happens when the punitive arm of the state becomes enmeshed with social institutions designed to provide a public good, such as public education.
My work has been funded through the American Sociological Association Minority Fellowship Program, the Center for Mexican American Studies, the C.B. Smith Sr. Centennial Chair in U.S.-Mexico Relations, the President's Fellowship at the University of Texas, the Marilyn Yarbrough Dissertation/ Teaching Fellowship Program, and The National Academy of Education/ Spencer Foundation.
Education: I received my Ph.D in Sociology from the University of Texas, Austin. I graduated with an M.A. in the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Sociology and Geography from the University of California, Berkeley.