research
My research is focused on the solutions that activists, residents, planners, and governments are developing to address the ongoing global housing crisis and how these efforts are influenced by and influence racial, gendered, and (post)colonial geographies, and how they result in tangible policies and built environments.
My dissertation research focuses on the (re)development and operation of public housing and how publicly funded housing can play a crucial role in solving the housing affordability crisis facing cities globally despite its legacy of broken promises. I work under the supervision of Dr. April Jackson.
I came to academia after working in community development and housing counseling for over a decade. My passion for cities and my commitment to a right to housing for all comes from my background as the descendent of Black people displaced from their homes across multiple generations and geographies, my upbringing on Chicago's South Side in intentionally disinvested neighborhoods, and my experience working as a housing organizer and counselor on Chicago's Far North Side, one of the country's most diverse communities.