I’m a sociologist of youth, race, and education as well as a documentary filmmaker and committed educator. Broadly, my work explores the intersection of race, gender, and class for youth in school and community contexts and asks how young people develop and protect their inner lives in the face of considerable external constraints. I use primarily ethnographic and qualitative methods as well as surveys, film, participatory and action research.
I am an Assistant Professor of Education at Barnard College, Columbia University. Previously, I served as a Core Fellow / Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston College where I taught undergraduate courses in the University Core Curriculum.