I am an associate professor in the departments of Political Science and Public Administration & Policy at the University at Albany, State University of New York. My research examines the relationship between social and political institutions and social and political behavior. I use private institutions to shed new light on traditional political science questions about how public institutions work:  How are so-called private institutions, like family, leveraged for public ends, and with what consequences?  Why do policymakers sometimes rely on private actors and other times public bureaucracies to achieve the same policy goals?  When do groups, with a range of options before them, engage in political activity and when do they seek solutions outside of government?  What effect does high-profile activism outside the political sphere have on Americans’ views of public policy?  In answering these questions, my research focuses largely on American politics after World War II and draws on the new institutionalism, public policy, and political sociology literatures. I choose the particular policy area and methodology most appropriate to the task.