Political communities are shaped by how we think and feel, how we relate to one another, and how our network of connections pulls us together or pushes us apart. My work examines how motivational orientations and cognitive models interact with modern social and media structures to shape whether communities flourish or fracture.

Political communities survive by balancing two fundamental forces: the drive for informativity, which pushes people to learn, to challenge themselves and each other, and to revise their shared understanding of the world; and the need for stability, which anchors cooperation, social norms, and a sense of security. While Informativity and stability exist in tension, they are ultimately partners. Communities cannot be safe without understanding the world beyond their walls, just as they cannot explore the world without a sheltered harbor to return to.

Across projects, I show that civil discourse is the mechanism that keeps these forces in productive tension. When it is working well, it is a tool that transforms disagreement into strength. When it fails, communities spin off into chaos or harden into brittle fragility

My research combines predictive processing, polarity theory, computational linguistics, and network analysis to understand how political communities use discourse to organize themselves and tackle problems. I use text and network data to study how fundamental motivations, threat, and neurocognitive models shape the balance that communities strike between understanding the world and making their members feel safe.

I’m an award winning teacher of persuasive communication, research methods, public speaking, and communication theory.

My classroom is a collaborative space where students can test ideas, challenge assumptions, and connect theory to the challenges of their own lives.

I teach with the conviction that serious scholarship and pedagogy strengthen one another.

Before academia, I worked in public service, political campaigns, and international diplomacy, leading initiatives that required coalition-building, community engagement, and clear communication. These experiences trained me to navigate complex systems, translate technical ideas for diverse audiences, and understand the value of diversity in solving problems. My experience shapes both my research and my teaching, grounding theoretical questions in real-world practicality.