She studies the mechanisms that perpetuate (or mitigate) group-based inequality in the labor market, with a focus on social networks and employer discrimination. Current projects examine how employers reward the referrals of black and white job applicants, the relationship between employers' racial attitudes and their hiring behavior, and the causal effect of an increase in social network size on the employment outcomes of Mexican immigrants. She is also working on a series of studies investigating how different ways of framing immigration affect attitudes toward immigration policy. She received her PhD in sociology from the University of California-Berkeley.