Welcome!

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Merced and a Faculty Affiliate at the Center for Analytic Political Engagement. Previously, I've held positions at The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, ITAM, Innovations for Poverty Action in Mexico, and the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. I hold a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego.

I study the politics of violence, (in)security, and illicit criminal orders, with much of my research focusing on criminal organizations and their interactions with the state. I explore these themes through original data and multi-method research designs. I am the co-founder and Lead Investigator of the Mapping Criminal Organizations (MCO) project, which seeks to generate systematic data on criminal groups in Mexico. My research has been published in Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Political Science Research and Methods, and other academic and public-facing outlets. 

You can find my CV here.