I am a PhD Candidate and Teaching Fellow at Harvard University. My research projects are united in their application of a multilevel approach to understanding human behavior with a focus on the collective action problem. I use socioecological modeling, ethnographic studies, behavioral ecology, cognitive and social psychology to understand human behavior with an eye toward policy applications.  

My current field projects are with the pastoral Hamar and Nyangatom tribes of the South Omo Valley, Ethiopia. Among the Hamar, I research the relationship between changes in subsistence, cultural traditions and long-term health status, especially child welfare.  Among the Nyangatom, I study why individuals contribute to collective action problems using demographic, behavioral, and psychological data to understand inter-individual variation in the production of group benefits. 

Significant intellectual influences include: Richard Wrangham, Kristen Hawkes, Shaun Nichols, Steven Downes, Mary Vaughn, Douglas Hofstader, Benjamin Whiting, Samanatha Power, and Charles "Chuck Bigtime" Darwin.

Funding for my present projects is provided by:
Harvard University Human Evolutionary Biology

Harvard Fellowships Office

Wenner-Gren Foundation

National Science Foundation

Harvard University Mind, Brain, and Behavior Program