Profile

Writer/researcher and historian-ethnographer focused on impacts of digital technologies on people at the political and economic margins. Skilled in a variety of research methods. 15 years experience conducting ethnographic fieldwork in cross-cultural, multilingual settings. Widely published. Strong track record of successful grant writing. Committed to producing poignant, impactful, accessible research and writing in partnership with non-profit organizations, civil society groups, artists, and researchers.

 

Available to do social scientific research using participatory methodologies, policy-oriented writing and editing, media outreach and campaign strategy, and monitoring and evaluation work. 

 

​

Skills

qualitative research

writing, editing

public speaking, teaching, and lecturing

grant-writing and fundraising

partnership and stakeholder management

budgeting 

event organizing

campaign messaging and strategy

curricular and study-abroad design

 

​

Professional Appointments

I am a senior lecturer in the School of Politics and International Relations and a fellow at the Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences at Queen Mary University of London. I am also the reviews editor for Africa: Journal of the International  African Institute, a premier journal on the study of African societies and culture.

 

My current research has been funded by the Fulbright US Scholar program, the American Council of Learned Societies, the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust, Privacy International, the Alan Turing Institute, the British Institute in Eastern Africa, and the Facebook/HSRC AI Research Initiative. I am also part of a UKRI GCRF Digital Innovation for Development in Africa (DIDA) research network.

​

​

Previous Appointments

Before joining Queen Mary in September 2022, I was a lecturer (teaching) in the History Department and a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies at University College London (UCL) and a visiting fellow the Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa at the London School of Economics (LSE). Prior to moving to London, I was a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Africana Studies and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of History and  Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. My work for the Lauder Institute included designing and leading study abroad programs for undergraduate and MA students. As Summer Regional Program Director for Africa, I traveled to South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Mauritius, Madagascar, Mozambique and Ethiopia to forge institutional links with African partners, universities, and research centers.

 

​

Education

Stanford University

PhD in  History — June 2013

MA in  History — June 2010

 

Washington University in St. Louis

BA in History — May 2005

Summa cum laude

Major: History

Minors: French and Painting

​

Full CV can be downloaded here

​

​