I am a historian of late twentieth-century cities, race, and ethnicity. Most of my work is on postwar Philadelphia.

As I grew up in Durham, North Carolina, the public school system's attempts at desegregation sparked my interest in how race shaped urban environments and experiences.

I followed that interest throughout my undergraduate studies at Georgia Tech and graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh, where I completed a PhD in History in 2013.

I am currently an Associate Professor of History and Black Studies at Allegheny College. I teach courses in modern US history and African American history. My interests are wide ranging, from the history of social welfare to political activism to environmental impacts.