He earned his PhD at Stony Brook University where he studied the impact of men's growing involvement in gender equality efforts on international development. Cliff is also the President of the American Men's Studies Association, serves on the Steering Committee for the North American MenEngage Network, and is a member of the Mobilizing Men for Violence Prevention (MMVP) research collaborative. His primary research interest is in the ways in which individuals and groups in positions of privilege engage in social justice activism.