Ph.D. Student
Department of Geography
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Research Assistant
Global Apparel Project

Advisor: John Pickles

My main research areas are global economic geography, labor and environmental regulation, and political economy of development. I am currently working on a comparative study of ethical initiatives, such as workplace codes and monitoring, in the clothing industries of Mexico and Sri Lanka. My side interests include gender studies, displacement and resettlement, workforce and community development policy, and mapping.

I received a Bachelor's degree from Brandeis University in sociology in 1999 and a Master's degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley in 2003. At UC Berkeley, I was a researcher for Karen Chapple's study of upward mobility in information technology, Promising Futures. I have professional experience in policy research, affordable housing, and environmental justice. Before returning to academia in 2006, I spent nearly three years as a policy analyst and training provider with Social Policy Research Associates, specializing in U.S. employment, training, and trade adjustment assistance programs.

My research and studies are supported by:
The National Science Foundation, Global Apparel Project
UNC Global Work Initiative
The Weiss Urban Livability Program
American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies
UNC Center for Global Initiatives and the Carolina Asia Center
UNC Institute for the Study of the Americas