I am an applied economist and interdisciplinary environmental social scientist with a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Missouri–Columbia, specializing in Environment and Development Economics. My work connects environmental and institutional economics with cooperative governance, environmental law, sociology, and conservation science.

My research asks how people and institutions can act collectively to restore ecosystems, strengthen rural communities, and build fairer economic systems. I am developing the concept of ecosystem cooperatives: locally governed, multi-stakeholder institutions that give communities meaningful authority and shared responsibility for conservation and restoration. I also study the motivations behind collective action, environmental and cooperative values, and farmers’ perceptions of fairness in agrifood markets.

A guiding principle of my work is to go beyond the dataset and engage with the people behind the numbers. I use mixed methods because durable solutions require both analytical rigor and attention to lived experience. My aim is not only to describe environmental and social problems, but to help design institutions that communities can use.

Teaching and mentoring are central to that mission. I connect theory to real-world cases, encourage students to learn through sustained projects, and adapt mentorship to each student’s needs. I want classrooms and research teams to be places where curiosity, effort, and diverse experience are treated as strengths.

My commitment to inclusion and public service is rooted in a simple idea: more people deserve a place—and a voice—at the table. At Mizzou, I directed the Deaton Scholars Program and mentored more than 80 students; helped lead hunger-relief, sustainability, and international-student initiatives; supported a community of more than 1,200 international students and staff; and trained more than 900 smallholder farmers in Bihar, nearly half of them women, on agricultural cooperative development.

Explore the Research & Publications and Recognition & News pages for selected scholarship, current projects, and verified external coverage.