I am an Associate Professor in the Political Science Department at Penn State. My research and teaching focus on international security and US foreign policy. My primary research interest is in how countries can credibly signal their intentions to each other in the context of ongoing or potential conflict. My current research includes an NSF-funded project on the sources of international reputations and a book project about how perceptions of madness affect leaders’ success in crisis bargaining. My past research projects have explored the role of statements of resolve in international conflict and how major powers signal support for their protégés. My first book, Statements of Resolve, was published by Cambridge University Press. I am an Associate Editor for the journal Security Studies, and my articles have appeared in journals such as the American Political Science Review, International Organization, and the Journal of Politics.
I grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore and went to college at the University of Maryland, where I majored in Government and Politics and in Economics. I also studied Russian and spent a summer in Moscow.
Between college and graduate school and again during a break in my graduate studies, I worked as an intelligence analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). I eventually rose to the position of Senior Intelligence Analyst, in which I managed intelligence analysis priorities for a group of about 10 analysts and reviewed their analysis for accuracy and quality. I also wrote intelligence assessments for the US president and other top officials.
I ultimately decided to pursue an academic career. I received my Ph.D. in 2014 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I then spent four years as a faculty member at Baruch College, part of the City University of New York, before coming to Penn State.
The banner image above is a photo from Tbilisi, capital of the Republic of Georgia. During my DIA career, I briefly worked at the US embassy there.