Biography

I am from a small, Gulf-side town in northwest Florida, raised by a family of pecan farmers-turned-healthworkers. An early fascination with how people care for one another under hardship, and how stories cultivate empathy, drew me toward anthropology and applied research. During my undergraduate studies, I became deeply involved in immigrant rights movements and focused my research on the experiences of undocumented Latina migrant women navigating exclusionary systems through collective care and advocacy. I then pursued an MA in Human Rights Studies to strengthen my understanding of legal frameworks of rights and justice. This training informed my subsequent career in refugee resettlement and, later, in gender equity and global health within international development. As I begin my PhD in Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, I aim to advance participatory, decolonialist research that bridges scholarship and practice through exploring how women living at the margins of formal health systems build knowledge, care, and agency in contexts of legal and social precarity. I am endlessly grateful to the Gates Cambridge Trust for the opportunity to pursue this work within a community committed to leadership and equity.

Previous Education

Columbia University Human Rights Studies 2020
Rollins College Anthropology 2018