Affiliation(s):

• WSU-GEARS, Wayne State University

I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and political science (minor in French) at Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y. I spent a few years working (as an English teacher in France, as a daily newspaper reporter in Port Huron, Michigan, and as a volunteer coordinator at Habitat for Humanity in Detroit) before starting graduate school. I earned a Master of Arts in Political Science in 2012 and a Ph.D. in political science (world politics) in 2018, both from Wayne State University. Dr. Sharon Lean, associate professor of political science, was my Ph.D. advisor.

I am the project coordinator for the WSU-GEARS project. In this role, I assist the PI (Dr. Krista Brumley, associate professor of Sociology), and the multidisciplinary grant team in planning and implementing our programs. I have the opportunity to apply some of the concepts I learned about during my graduate training related to women’s rights, minority rights, and structural change in real time. It’s been fascinating to learn about the research around issues such as work/family/life strains, toxic work environment, and the hidden workload, and to promote women’s equity at the institution where I worked and studied.

The book project builds on my dissertation. In the cross-national, time series study, I found that women’s ability to join and form civil society organizations was a particularly strong predictor of state peacefulness. I am extending the research to a new, but related, dependent variable—the implementation rates of civil war peace accords. I am planning to interview women’s peace activists in two post-conflict countries (Nepal and the Philippines) to learn about the limitations and opportunities they faced in promoting the realization of various aspects of peace agreements. The book answers an important question in the field of women and peacemaking, as we have limited information about the contextual variables that encourage or limit women’s engagement in post-conflict peacebuilding.

I am interested in better understanding how motherhood shapes peace activism. This is not a new area of research, but I think there are important insights that can be gained from re-examining how contemporary women navigate the strains and tensions of motherhood. As a new mom to a 7-month-old, I better understand both the urgency of working to defend one’s values, and the ways that motherhood/parenthood reshapes your life and can present daily challenges.

One of the works that is salient to me right now is Sara Ruddick’s 1989 book, Maternal Thinking: Toward a Politics of Peace. Ruddick was a professor of philosophy and women’s studies. In this work, she suggested that parents develop a distinctive way of looking at the world based on the experiences of caring for their children. She was interested in the ways that this worldview, born out of human experience, could offer resources to promote peace politics. Ruddick suggested that the daily practices of care inform a way of thinking; caregivers understand vulnerability and work to ensure that their families can grow and thrive. This philosophy has much to teach us right now, at a time when we are battling existential threats such as the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.

In my current role as a project coordinator for WSU-GEARS, I have learned about so many inspiring women in STEM who are working to fight stereotypes and break barriers. Two organizations stand out: Mothers in Science, an international nonprofit dedicated to advocating for parents and caregivers in STEM, and 500 Women Scientists, a grassroots organization that has built an international movement dedicated to defending science and advocating for marginalized communities in science.

Two women science communicators are inspiring me this year. Laurel Bristow, an infectious disease specialist at Emory University who has used her Instagram account to inform some 425,000 (!) followers about COVID-19 research updates and to counter misinformation. Another inspiring science communicator is Dr. Raven Baxter (aka Raven the Science Maven), a molecular biologist who uses pop culture and social media to build community around diversity in STEM.

I enjoy taking my 7-month-old son, Henry, for walks or jogs around my neighborhood. My husband is a great cook, so I also enjoy trying his new dishes.