She earned both her doctorate in psychology and MPH from the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on factors that promote more positive psychosocial outcomes among marginalized adolescents. She is particularly interested in identifying opportunities to build on pre-existing strengths in youths’ lives, such as supportive relationships with non-parental adults. In addition to exploring the role of supportive relationships in contributing to youth development, she also investigates the role of broader contextual factors (e.g., neighborhood characteristics) in shaping youth outcomes. Her work has been published in a variety of outlets including the American Journal of Community Psychology, the Journal of Research on Adolescence, Child Development, The Journal of Early Adolescence, and Developmental Psychology.