About

As a Malagasy immigrant raised in St. Louis and rooted across the Midwest, my personal and professional journey has been shaped by the intersecting experiences of migration, community, and justice. Since arriving in the United States from Madagascar in 1995 and becoming a naturalized citizen in 2009, I have navigated multiple systems, from public education to the legal profession, always with a focus on advocating for equity and systemic change. These experiences form the foundation of my academic interests today. 

Before entering academia, I built a career as a practicing attorney in Chicago. After earning my J.D. from DePaul College of Law in 2016, I became licensed in both Illinois and Missouri and practiced in diverse legal settings, including personal injury, futures exchange markets, state government, and telecommunications. Most recently, I served as associate legal counsel for a Community Development Financial Institution, where I worked closely with non-profits on neighborhood revitalization efforts. In that role, I negotiated and formalized partnerships to support loans, development projects, and community-based research. This work deepened my commitment to socially engaged research and informed policy. 

My academic path began with a B.A. in Political Science and a secondary degree in Legal Studies from Saint Louis University. As someone who bridges multiple cultures, cities, and sectors, I bring to my Ph.D. research a grounded understanding of structural inequities, particularly as they impact multiracial communites and other communities of color across the Midwest. My transition from law to academia is a shift toward scholarship that generates evidence of issues with multiracial communities in the US and investigates solutions to systems, empowers communities, and drives meaningful change.