I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at George Washington University in Washington, DC. From 2013-2018, I was Assistant Professor of Political Science at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. My research and teaching focus on political violence, ethnic conflict, rural social networks, and state formation, with an emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa. I completed my Ph.D. in the Department of Government at Harvard University. My book, How Insurgency Begins: Rebel Group Formation in Uganda and Beyond, was published in September 2020 with Cambridge University Press's Series on Comparative Politics. It received the Annual Best Book Prize from both the Conflict Research Society and the African Politics Conference Group of the American Political Science Association. My articles have received the Alexander George Award for best paper using qualitative methods, as well the Best Article annual award from both the American Journal of Political Science and Comparative Political Studies. In addition to those journals, my research appears in the American Political Science Review, International Organization, Political Science Research and Methods, and others. My research has been supported by the Minerva Research Initiative, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, among others.