I am a fourth year PhD student studying American politics and policy studies. I have specific research interests in judicial politics at both the federal and state level, media coverage of institutions, and political scandal. My prospectus examines the role of the federal solicitor general before the supreme court, and the burgeoning role of the state solicitor general in state supreme courts. Through survey analysis, the creation of an original state solicitor dataset, and the implementation and analysis of an original survey experiment, I aim to discover how these influential actors behave, how the public responds to this actor, and what implications it might have for institutional legitimacy. 

Beyond research, I take great pride in my teaching responsibilities for the department. I have been a primary instructor for PS101- Intro to American Government (Fa 2022, Su 2022, Su 2021), PS360- The Politics of Law and Courts (Sp 2022) and PS372- Intro to Political Analysis (Fa 2021). I have worked as a Teaching Assistant for PS101 (Fa 2019-Zilis, Sp 2020-Waterman) as well. Prior to my experience at the University of Kentucky, I served as a clinical education preceptor for Bellarmine University's Master of Athletic Training program and a long-term substitute teacher at a private secondary school. My goals when teaching are to make the material accessible, applicable, and relevant for not only students studying political science, but those considering careers in other fields as well.