I am an Assistant Professor in Cornell University’s Department of Government. In 2019-2020, I was a Post-Doctoral Associate at New York University - Abu Dhabi. My research interests include the relationship between political regimes and religious institutions, as well as the development of and appeal to religious identities in the political sphere. My research is also motivated by a broader interest in the politics of the Middle East, including gender, political party development, the evolution of authoritarian institutions, and the role of foreign and transnational forces in the region. I have conducted research in Egypt, France, Tunisia, and the United States.

My dissertation research examines the impact of French colonial administration on local political and religious identities in Tunisia. I also explore the legacy of the waqf and habous institutions in North Africa. My dissertation research has received support from Notre Dame’s Global Religion Research Initiative and the American Institute for Maghrib Studies. I received my PhD from the Department of Political Science at Stanford University in 2019.

I am a proud native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before attending Stanford, I completed my BA in International Relations at Tufts University (2010) and attended Schenley High School in Pittsburgh. In addition, I was a Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholar in Duisburg, Germany (2005-2006), a Center for Arabic Study Abroad Fellow in Cairo, Egypt (2010-2011), and Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC (2011-2012).