I'm a former New York University undergraduate and a current doctoral candidate in the developmental psychology program at NYU. Prior to arriving at NYU for graduate school, Iearned a masters degree in education from Harvard in 2001, and was a research fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. I began the Ph.D. program at NYU in 2004 and have since been a member of the research team at NYU’s Center for Research on Culture,Development, and Education (CRCDE).

Early in my career as a graduate student, I developed a strong interest in understanding racial and gender stereotyping and, in particular, the ways in which these processes were linked to psychological well-being and quality of social relationships. This research has included publications with my mentor, Dr. Niobe Way, examining longitudinal trajectories of racially and ethnically diverse adolescents' experience of ethnic and racial identity as well as international research on intervention programs geared towards questioning gender norms in order to improve boy’s and men’s health outcomes. My dissertation is a mixed methods 3-year longitudinal study about the friendships of racially and ethnically diverse boys as they transition across middle school. This study aims to understand possible linkages between boy’s beliefs about gender and stereotyping in their relationships with peers to psychological well-being and social competence. Upon completion of the program, I plan on continuing to build on my research expertise and interests by pursuing a postdoctoral or faculty position at a research university.