I am a development economist specializing in institutional change and social norms in sub-Saharan Africa. My work examines how public policies and development programs can complement, reinforce, or substitute for legal reforms in shifting deeply rooted practices such as child marriage, female genital cutting, polygyny, and marriage payments. Drawing on both theoretical and empirical methods, and working at the macro and micro levels, I identify the mechanisms that drive institutional change and their consequences for social and economic development. This evidence helps policymakers and development partners design interventions that work with local norms rather than against them, and anticipate where legal reform alone is likely to fall short.