Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Public Administration

I earned my Bachelor’s of Art in Multidisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas at San Antonio with concentrations in Sociology, Legal Studies, and Honors Studies. During my undergraduate career and immediately afterwards, I worked with Texas State Senator Leticia Van de Putte in both her district office and as a legislative intern. I also worked as volunteer manager and finance assistant on the successful Wendy Davis for State Senate campaign in 2012. I enjoy running, reading biographies, and talking about current events. I am looking forward to bringing my interest in equality and civil rights for women, children, and the LGBTQ community to the classroom and beyond.

During my time in Texas, I interned for Texas State Senator Leticia Van de Putte in her district office performing constituent service as well as assisting in several town hall meetings. I also spearheaded her effort to identify Texas businesses that had been established at least 50 years ago and usher them through the process to becoming a Texas Treasure Business. Additionally, I was a member of the nationally ranked debate team. I was accepted into the Bill Archer Fellowship where I had the opportunity to go to Washington DC and intern for the Australian Embassy in their Education Policy department. There, I wrote two reports concerning the Canadian and Texas education systems. After graduating, I was accepted into the Annie’s List campaign school where I spent an intense week learning how to effectively work on campaigns. I was then placed on the State Senator Wendy Davis campaign. At the time, this campaign was the largest, most competitive, and most watched campaign in Texas. After we won, I was accepted into the Gregory Luna Legislative Fellowship and worked in Senator Van de Putte’s legislative office. In addition to my duties in her office and as a Luna Fellow, I coordinated an It Gets Better video from the Texas Legislature, which featured 18 Senators and Representatives and has been viewed over 4,500 times to show support for LGBTQ youth in Texas.