I am an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) at Virginia Tech. I earned my PhD in HDFS at Penn State, conducting research on sexual relationships and health in adolescence and emerging adulthood. My training emphasized how human development is shaped by relationships, communities, and social structures. I have also completed postdoctoral training at the Medical College of Wisconsin, which focused on HIV prevention among LGBTQ+ populations.
Broadly, my research program centers on health equity in adolescence and young adulthood, with an emphasis on sexual and reproductive health in sexual minority populations. In my work, I focus on the person-in-context to understand how individual behavior is shaped by within-person characteristics (e.g., age, knowledge), relationships (e.g., sexual partners), communities (e.g., embeddedness within LGBTQ+ communities), and social structures (e.g., heteronormativity). My recent research includes internally funded work to create a more inclusive model of sexual health that incorporates these multilevel influences on behavior for women with diverse sexual identities and experiences.
I aim to solidify my contribution to the field of family planning by assessing barriers and facilitators to accessing over-the-counter contraception among young women who have sex with women and men (YWSWM). The support of the Changemakers in Family Planning grant will allow me to gain skills in qualitative methods, mixed methods, and community-engaged research, which will make me a strong advocate who centers the voices of YWSWM in research aimed to improve their access to contraception.