ABOUT

I am a PhD Candidate in the Departments of Sociology and Community & Environmental Sociology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. As a community-engaged scholar, I study the sociology of collaborative land management, focusing on how communities navigate environmental conflicts and work together to care for shared landscapes and the human and nonhuman life they sustain.

 

My dissertation uses qualitative and participatory methods—including interviews, ride-alongs, participant observation, and participatory network mapping—to examine the social dynamics of conservation. I also apply social network analysis to identify emerging forms of collaboration that support future land stewardship. Working with my community partner organizations, I’m committed to research that is participatory, place-based, and useful to the communities studied.

 

Beyond my dissertation, my research addresses agrifood systems, rural inequality, land ownership, and gentrification. My work has appeared in Rural Sociology, Agriculture and Human Values, and The Journal of Peasant Studies, and has been supported by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Community and Environmental Sociology; the Nelson Institute’s Center for Culture, History, the Environment; the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and The Garden Club of America’s Fellowship for Ecological Restoration.