About Me

Early Background

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. When I was 10 years old, I began attending Brentwood School. There, my passion for research and psychology began to sprout and grow. I also began acting at an early age and was able to think about aspects of performance, production, and engagement throughout my various experiences. While my early educational experiences were deeply impactful to my career trajectory, they were not without challenges. As the daughter of an immigrant and a young Black woman at an elite, private institution, I was one of few members belonging to the intersection of my race, gender, and social class. My longstanding experience with intergroup bias informs empirical questions that are foundational to my research.

Educational Background

After graduating from George Washington University, I joined Teach for America, where I taught 8th-grade English and History in Southwest Philadelphia while earning my first master's degree. During my time as a teacher and a graduate student in education, I began to observe and experience the impact that stress and racialized stress had on various aspects of performance. This first-hand experience motivated me to pursue additional graduate work in well-being. After studying positive psychology, I was able to consider strength-based approaches to motivation in tackling questions of discrimination that I had long considered. My interdisciplinary graduate work prior to my Ph.D. has robustly informed my approach to research questions, design, application, and teaching.

During my Ph.D. in psychological and brain sciences with an emphasis on social and personality psychology, I developed an expertise in the science of bias, regulation, emotion, and stress coping. In my work, I use a variety of methods to approach research questions and test multifaceted interventions toward a future of more harmonious intergroup connections.

To read about a recent feature, please visit here.

Please, find my full CV here.