I am a political scientist specializing in property rights, customary law, and forced migration. Research and consulting have taken me to Kosovo, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Oman, Uganda, Ghana, Liberia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Vietnam. I love being outdoors and particularly enjoy hiking and kayaking. When I am not hanging out with my entertaining family or working at the University of Richmond, I engage in advocacy to combat hunger in the US and abroad.

My research focuses on property rights, post-conflict return migration, and customary law. I examine how post-conflict states and communities recover from violent conflict.

There are two trajectories of this work. The first follows my longtime scholarly expertise in property rights as I look at how states rebuild property systems after conflict; mechanisms of property restitution under public and customary law; and the impact of property losses across generations due to violence and displacement. The second trajectory examines the decisions people make after being forcibly displaced by violent conflict and specifically investigates choices to repatriate or return to home communities.

This research agenda draws on my extensive qualitative fieldwork in Africa and the Western Balkans supplemented by quantitative and spatial analysis. I also I continue to work on issues around customary law and land tenure as well as gender and how it impacts property rights and forced displacement.