She has wide-ranging interests in understanding rural people and places, particularly the vulnerable populations within them. Some of her research has focused on concerns such as how amenity migration in rural United States of America (U.S.) leads to contested community identity and development, the structural and community-level factors that play a role in chronic poverty in communities the U.S., and how U.S. farmers understand environmental issues associated with farming and subsequently navigate decisions to use soil and water conservation practices.