Welcome.
I am an Assistant Professor at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. An urbanist and peace scholar, I am interested in qualitative methods and interdisciplinary approaches. I research and teach environmental and urban peacebuilding, and the links between climate change, conflict, and security – among other topics.
My research focuses on socio-spatial planning, especially infrastructure planning (and building, and maintenance) in the context of conflict, disaster risk, and post-conflict/post-disaster reconstruction. I am particularly interested in infrastructure and technology in conflict settings and as part of peace efforts, as well as its coalition with climate and environmental efforts.
I am currently finalizing a book, which is the first comprehensive account of infrastructure building in United Nations peace operations, under contract with MIT Press. A second project investigates conflict management, co-production, and environmental peacebuilding around climate adaptation and decarbonization infrastructure.
My work has been published in various academic and non-academic outlets, including the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, International Peacekeeping, Peacebuilding, or Disasters. Field research into questions of infrastructure, shelter and displacement have led me to South Africa, Morocco and Montserrat.
My research has been supported by the ISA’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship Award, the USIP’s Minerva Peace and Security Dissertation Scholarship, the MIT Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center, the MIT Center for International Studies, the MIT DUSP Rodwin Travel grant, the Harvard Center for African Studies, and the Harvard Program on Negotiation, among others.
I also care deeply about the policy and practice relevance of my work. I have more than ten years of professional experience in international development, working on governance and conflict prevention across Africa, Europe and Central Asia. Prior to coming to MIT, I served as conflict prevention advisor to the African Union Border Programme, based in Addis Ababa, and worked on peace infrastructures and mediation in Kyrgyzstan. I occasionally serve as a consultant in areas such as conflict-sensitive development, urban planning, and climate adaptation in conflict zones.
Prior to joining the Carter School, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the Earth Commons Institute for Environment and Sustainability at Georgetown University. I received my PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). I also hold a Master in Design Studies, Risk and Resilience from Harvard University, a MA in Security Studies from the Sciences Po Paris, and a BA in European Studies from Maastricht University.