Background

I went into psychology as an undergraduate at CSU Fullerton thinking that I wanted to be a clinical psychologist. Towards the end of my studies, however, I became enthralled with interdisciplinary evolutionary approaches to studying human behavior and cognition. I quickly switched my focus to research and was lucky enough to get into the masters program at CSU Fullerton to continue my studies.

After a couple years of hard work and many fortuitous coincidences, I landed the opportunity to work towards my PhD at UT Austin with an academic hero of mine, Dr. David Buss. While at UT, I published several papers on human social status dynamics, provided statistical consulting for non-profits around Austin, and taught a graduate-level statistics course at Texas State.

Upon earning my PhD, I took a postdoc research position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, France. I was fortunate to be able to work with and learn from scholars across many fields, including economics, biology, anthropology, and political science. But I totally failed at learning French.

I’m excited to return to my roots in the CSU system here at Fresno State. I look forward to continuing my research on hierarchy navigation and individual differences, while training the next generation of scholars for a diverse range of career opportunities. Students interested in getting involved in my research can fill out an application.

Education

Ph.D., Psychology — The University of Texas at Austin 2021

M.A., Experimental Psychology — California State University, Fullerton 2017

B.A., Psychology — California State University, Fullerton 2015

Employment

Assistant Professor of Psychology — California State University, Fresno 2023 – Present

Research Fellow — Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, France 2022 – 2023

Adjunct Professor of Psychology — Texas State University 2021 – 2022