I am an assistant professor at the DePaul University School of Public Service in Chicago, Illinois where I teach graduate level courses in public policy analysis and cross-sector analysis. My research interests focus on the capacity for innovation in government and nonprofit organizations and its subsequent impact on performance, as well as other related issues involving cross-sector collaboration, social innovation, and public and nonprofit management in general.
I have published manuscripts in Public Administration Review, Handbook of Decision Making (John Wiley & Sons) and Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations (Sage), and have presented my research at annual conferences of the Academy of Management (AOM), the Public Management Research Association (PMRA), the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), the Public Finance and Budgeting section of the Western Social Science Association (WSSA), the Southeastern Conference for Public Administration (SECoPA), and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA). In 2009 I received the ARNOVA Emerging Scholar Award and in 2010 was an ARNOVA Dissertation Fellow. I was also a Summer PhD Fellow at the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the University of Texas at Austin in 2009.
I was previously the Policy and Research Analyst for the Arizona Association of Counties (AACo) in Phoenix, Arizona where I provided support to the Arizona County Attorneys’ and Sheriffs’ Association, Arizona Constables State Association, and also acted as interim director of the Arizona Constable Ethics Committee. As a registered lobbyist, I spent a significant amount of time at the Arizona State Legislature working with many individuals on policies concerning judicial, legal and law enforcement matters. Prior to joining AACo, I was part of a research and consulting team responsible for producing a major social impact assessment for Resolution Copper Mining. I have also held previous positions with the State of Arizona Government Information Technology Agency, the Salt River Project, the City of Chandler (AZ), U.S. Congressman Ed Pastor and was Director of Student Events for the 2004 Presidential Debate at Arizona State University.
I earned a Ph.D. in public administration from the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs, a Master of Public Administration from the Arizona State University School of Public Affairs, and a B.A. cum laude in journalism and mass communication from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, also at ASU.
