I am a 5th year PhD student at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy Studies, and an IES pre-doctoral fellow with the University's Committee on Education. My research addresses two lines of inquiry in education policy. The first focuses on the relationship between inequality in educational investments and disparities in labor market outcomes, in particular with respect to race. The second estimates the impact of private and philanthropic spending on educational (in)equality. This research bridges human capital theory with applied methods, education finance and real-world policy.

My current research estimates the impact of large philanthropic investments on racial inequality in Southern schooling before desegregation. Other research interests include the effect of tax incentives on school finance, school-to-work training programs, labor market discrimination, and racial disparities in early language learning. As of June 2012, I will be a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy.

Personal

Before attending the Harris School I taught English and Literature at John McDonogh Senior High School, and later at McDonogh 35 High School in New Orleans. I currently live in Chicago with my wife Cara who recently launched BankOn Chicago at the City Treasurer's Office. Cara now works on the Mayor's Innovation Delivery Team, funded by a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.