I am a sociologist who studies American family life and inequality. Much of my work focuses on the transition to parenthood.  

My research agenda is motivated by persistent socioeconomic and racial disparities in family formation. At first glance, family formation may seem very individualized; decisions about whom we marry, when we have children, and how we raise them are personal. My work investigates how social inequality contributes to patterns of family formation and disparate parenting resources at the population level, and subsequently affects the well-being of parents and children. 

My research appears in leading peer-reviewed journals such as American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Social Problems, Demography, and the Journal of Marriage and Family.  I received my Ph.D. in Sociology from Cornell University.  I am currently an associate professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a faculty fellow at the Carolina Population Center.