About Me
I am an Program Director of Academic & Student Programs, a Senior Fellow with the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. I graduated with a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University in 2020. Prior to my doctoral program, I received a B.S. in geography and an M.S. in economics, both from Utah State University.
My areas of study include Austrian Economics, Public Choice Economics, Development Economics, and Economic Sociology. My broad research topics include environmental issues and Native American economic development.
My dissertation focuses on how institutions and culture affect entrepreneurship and economic outcomes on Native American lands. Native American reservations are often islands of poverty within the United States. The purpose of my dissertation is to better understand the effects of formal and informal institutions on Native American entrepreneurship and economic growth.
My other research involves the connections between the Bloomington School of Political Economy and environmental policy. Elinor and Vincent Ostrom were founding scholars of the Bloomington School, and the core of their research program focused on using self-governance and polycentricity to solve social problems. I explore the Ostroms’ normative and analytical arguments regarding self-governance and how self-governing systems can resolve environmental problems without the need for top-down, centralized policies.
I enjoy playing the cello, hiking in national parks, and going to museums. I was born and raised in Rexburg, Idaho. I have also lived in Japan, Utah, and Virginia.
Thinkers Who Have Influenced Me
F. A. Hayek
James M. Buchanan
Elinor Ostrom
Ludwig von Mises
Israel Kirzner
Gordon Tullock
Vincent Ostrom
Don Lavoie
