I study American politics—with focus on public opinion, political psychology, and gender, race & politics—and methodology—with focus on statistical analysis, research design, and experimental methods. I joined the department at UVa in the Fall of 2006; prior to that I held a tenure track position in the Government Department at Cornell; worked as a policy researcher at Policy Studies Associates in Washington, DC; and worked as a political campaign consultant, also in Washington. I received my Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan, where my fields of study included American politics, methodology, and social theory.

My first book develops and tests a theory to explain the process by which public opinion can be shaped by implicit race or gender considerations (Dangerous Frames: How Ideas About Race and Gender Shape Public Opinion, University of Chicago Press). My work has also appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, Politics & Gender, Political Behavior, Political Science Research & Methods and Political Psychology.