I am an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Political Science and Jack J. Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston. Starting September 1, 2026, I will be an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Valenti School at UH. For the 2026-2027 academic year, I am the James S. House and Wendy Fisher House Social Science and Journalism Visiting Scholar at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research.

Broadly speaking, I am interested in questions examining the news media and politics, and I primarily study how political forces such as elections and politicians’ rhetoric affect media trust, news consumption, and political learning. I often draw on my past experiences working at CNN to enhance this research agenda. I also study questions related to gender and politics, particularly the stability, measurement, and political implications of sexism. My work has been published in The Journal of Politics, Political Behavior, Political Communication, Public Opinion Quarterly, The International Journal of Press/Politics, and other academic journals. It has also been supported by the National Science Foundation.

I received my Ph.D. and M.A. in political science from Vanderbilt University, and my B.A. in political science and journalism from Emory University. Before coming to UH, I was an Assistant Professor in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. 

Click here for a copy of my CV and here to contact me.