She is a public budgeting scholar whose research focuses on financial management and fiscal policy issues that affect public organizations such as fiscal slack which incorporates debt management, revenue diversification, and revenue structure. More recently, her research has focused on nonprofit organizations and the relationship between governance decisions and financial preparedness in dealing with adverse circumstances. Her work has appeared in several top peer-reviewed journals, including Public Budgeting and Finance, Municipal Finance Journal, Public Finance and Management and Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management.