Her primary research examines the impact of legislative institutional design on the behavior and outcomes for groups divided by party status, gender, and race/ethnicity. She utilizes the variation in institutional designs across American legislative institutions -- at the state and local level — to explain how institutional features effect the relationships between party leaders and their members, interactions between political parties, and the ways in which underrepresented groups are incorporated (or not) into the policy making process. The insights from her research inform both scholars and political elites on how to design of legislative institutions to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and ultimately the quality of representation. Professor Provins completed her Ph.D. in Political Science at University of California, Merced in 2018.