I am a fourth-year Harvard PhD candidate, Graduate Prize Fellow, Karl Deutsch Fellow, and 2026-27 Weatherhead Center Graduate Student Associate. My research lies at the intersection of comparative politics, political economy of development, and economic history. I quantitatively explore how the economic and social legacies of pre-colonial (and colonial) eras continue to shape contemporary political and economic development outcomes across Africa. Specifically, I ask whether myths, festivals and cultural norms celebrating industrious and prosperous women reflect a social history that has led to persistent economic and political empowerment for women today. I also quantitatively explore the economic origins and persistence of these cultural norms.

My work has been supported by the Harvard Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, the Harvard Government Department, the Harvard Center for African Studies, and London Business School’s Wheeler Institute for Business and Development. My work has also been circulated as a working paper through the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

In 2023 I was 1 of 30 recipients of a Forbes 30 under 30 North America award in education for my work as the founder and president of the Research in Color Foundation, a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the representation and retention of historically excluded scholars in economics and economics-adjacent fields through mentorship and financial support. Through the program 95 scholars benefited from eight months of direct mentorship, and the foundation provided over $160,000 in scholarships to mentees. In the past, I have worked with institutions such as the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and the United Nations, on topics related to private sector firm development in emerging markets, and identifying challenges to MSME operations. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Studies from the University of Michigan and a Master’s degree in Applied Economics from George Washington University. From 2019-2021, I was a fellow with the Emerging Scholars in Political Science Program at Princeton University, and for the 2023-2024 school year, I was on leave from my PhD program working as a Staff Economist with the White House Council of Economics Advisers for the Biden Administration on topics related to international economics and trade. Check out my CV here!