Academic Appointments
Rutgers University, Camden, NJ, Associate Professor (2018 – present) and Chair (2019 – present), Department of Political Science, with joint appointment in the Department of Public Policy and Administration.
Rutgers University, Camden, Assistant Professor, September 2011 – 2018. Teach undergraduate courses in the Department of Political Science and graduate courses in the Department of Public Policy and Administration.
Education
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, Ph.D. in Political Science, concentration in Comparative Politics and Public Policy. Degree received May 2011.
The American University, Washington, DC, M.A. in International Development, School of International Service, concentration in Policy and Management. Degree received May 2003.
Georgetown University, Washington, DC, B.A., Major in Comparative Government, minor in Women’s Studies. Degree received May 1999.
Publications
Books:
Civil Society and Participatory Governance: Municipal Councils and Social Housing Programs in Brazil. Routledge Press, 2013.
Articles:
“Eliciting Urban Public Benefits and Services: Evidence from Community Organizations for Housing.” Comparative Politics Section for the APSA Newsletter, Spring 2020.
“Participation Meets Politics: Political Shifts and the Longevity of Participatory Governance Institutions,” (2020). PS: Political Science and Politics. 53 (1), 6-9.
“Community Resistance and the Inclusive City: Devising Strategies in São Paulo.” Journal of Urban Affairs. 2017.
“Does Welfare Provision Promote Democratic State Legitimacy? Evidence from Brazil’s Bolsa Familía Program.” Journal of Latin American Politics and Society. Vol. 59, 4 (Co-authors Matthew Layton and Lúcio Rennó)
“Resisting Removal: The Impact of Community Mobilization in Rio de Janeiro.” Journal of Latin American Politics and Society (Winter 2015/2016).
“Do Participatory Governance Institutions Matter? An Analysis of Municipal Councils and Social Housing Programs in Brazil.” Journal of Comparative Politics, 44, (October 2011).
“The Electoral Consequences of Direct Political Action: Evidence from Brazil,” with David S. Brown and J. Christopher Brown, Journal of Latin American Politics and Society. (Winter 2011/12).
Book Reviews:
“Reforming the Relationship between the State and Civil Society in Latin America.” An invited review of four books on participatory democracy in Brazil and Chile. Forthcoming in Latin American Research Review.
Invited Review of Enduring Reform, edited by W. Rubin and V. Bennett, Journal of Latin American Politics and Society (Spring 2016).
Invited Review of Bootstrapping Democracy: Transforming Local Governance and Civil Society in Brazil by G. Baiocchi, P. Heller and M. Silva, Journal of Latin American Politics and Society, 55 (Fall 2013): 176-178.
Invited Review of Land, Protest, and Politics: The Landless Movement and the Struggle for Agrarian Reform in Brazil, by Gabriel Ondetti, Comparative Political Studies, 42 (June 2009): 847-50.
Invited Review of Making Law Matter: Environmental Protection and Legal Institutions in Brazil, by Lesley K. McAllister, Governance, 22 (October 2009): 752-54.
Works in Progress:
“Participatory Politics in Cuba: Citizen Involvement in the Redevelopment of Old Havana.” Preliminary fieldwork in March 2017, to be completed in 2018.
“Towards Inclusive Cities: Strategies and Outcomes of Community Organizations across Latin America and Africa,” with Jeffrey Paller, to be presented at the 2017 APSA Conference.
“Urban Politics in Brazil: Removals and Resistance in Foz de Iguacu,” pending completion of fieldwork, summer 2017.
Honors and Awards (Selected):
Cuba Collaboration Matching Grant Program, 2018, Awarded by the Provost’s office of Rutgers-Camden for the project entitled “Citizen Participation in the Redevelopment of Old Havana.”
Catalyst Grant, 2017 – awarded by the Provost’s office of Rutgers-Camden to support field research in Cuba for a project entitled “Participatory Budgeting in Old Havana.”
Internationalizing the Curriculum Grant, 2016, Awarded by the GAIA Center at Rutgers University to expand the capacity of learning abroad opportunities for the Urban Studies Program. Co-PIs Natasha Fletcher and Lorraine Minnite.
Faculty and Creative Activities Award, 2015-2016, Awarded by the Rutgers Camden Faculty of Arts and Sciences to complete research related to my book project, Democratizing Urban Development.
International Collaborative Research Grant, 2015, Awarded by Rutgers University for a research project entitled, “Urban Politics in Brazil: Removals and Resistance in Foz de Iguacu,” to be carried out with colleagues from the Universidade Federal de Integracao Latino-Americana (UNILA), Brazil.
Research Council Grant, 2014-2015, Awarded by Rutgers University for a research project entitled “Urban Mobilization, Displacement, and Democracy.”
International Collaborative Research Grant, 2012, Awarded by Rutgers University for a research project entitled “Health in Vespasiano: Evaluating Environmental, Social, and Institutional Effects on Health Outcomes,” to be carried out with colleagues from Rutgers and the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Faculty Research Grant, 2011, Awarded by Rutgers University for a research project entitled “Confronting Dislocations: The Impact of Civil Society on Urban Policy”
Dissertation Completion Fellowship, 2010, Awarded by the University of Colorado Graduate School to provide funding towards completing the dissertation in Fall 2010.
NSEP David L. Boren Fellowship, 2008-2009. Funding for Portuguese language instruction and dissertation research in Brazil.
Professional Experience:
Graduate Part-Time Instructor, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, January 2009 – May 2011. Taught independently designed courses on Latin American Politics and Critical Thinking in Development to upper-division undergraduate students.
Teaching Assistant, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, August 2005 – December 2009. Lead discussions and grade assignments for courses in Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Global Development.
Program Manager, Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector at the University of Maryland, College Park, November 2003 – July 2005. Assisted in the development, implementation and evaluation of the PPC IDEAS Project, which provided intellectual and technical support to the Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination at USAID. Managed USAID-contracted projects in Peru (Justice Sector Modernization) and Georgia (Rule of Law).
Consultant, The Catalyst Consortium, Washington, DC, April – November 2003. Coordinated logistics for high-level international conference on reproductive health in Antigua, Guatemala and wrote final meeting report. Translated documents and correspondence from Spanish to English and maintained correspondence in oral and written Spanish.
Institution and Capacity-Building Specialist, Land O’Lakes Inc., International Development Division, Worldwide Farmer-to-Farmer Program funded by USAID. Tabasco and Chiapas, Mexico, June – August 2002. Conducted individual interviews and participatory group meetings with women chocolate producers and male cocoa growers to incorporate into an evaluative report for Land O’Lakes. Adapted baseline data surveys used by Land O’Lakes worldwide to effectively reflect the details of the projects in Mexico.
Academic Conference Presentations (Selected)
“Democratizing Urban Development: The Impact of Community Organizations on Low-Income Housing in Washington, DC and São Paulo.” presented to the Urban Affairs Association Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, April 2017.
“Bringing the Local to the Global: The Influence of Brazilian Urban Movements on the UN Habitat III Conference,” presentation to the International Studies Association Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD, February 2017.
Invited to present on research in the US and Latin America at a short course on comparative urban politics for the APSA annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA, August 2016.
Interview with WHYY, Philadelphia’s NPR Station, regarding politics in Rio de Janeiro leading up to the Olympic Games, August 2016.
Invitation to present on participatory governance in Latin America to the Summer Institute of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, July 2016.
“The Impact of Community Organizations on Policies, Programs, and Institutions to Promote Affordable Housing: Evidence from Cities in the US and Brazil,” Latin American Studies Association Annual Congress, New York, NY, May 2016.
“Inclusive Urban Development: Strategies of Community Organizations Concerned with Housing in Washington, DC and Sao Paulo,” American Political Science Association Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA, September 2015.
“Urban Displacement and Development: A Comparison of Experiences in the US and Brazil,” International Studies Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, February 2015.
Invited presentation to a workshop sponsored by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Brown University, entitled “Catching up to the Future? Advance and Challenges in the Politics, Society, and Social Policies of Contemporary Brazil.” Providence, RI, November 2014.
“Does Welfare Provision Strengthen Democracy? Assessing the Effect of Brazil’s Bolsa Familia Program on Democratic Attitudes among Recipients,” with Matthew Layton and Lucio Renno, American Political Science Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC, August 2014.
“Resisting Urban Development: Social Movements and Mega- Projects in Sao Paulo, Brazil.” Latin American Studies Association Annual Congress, Chicago, IL, May 2014.
Latin American Studies Association Annual Congress, Washington, DC (May 2013), “Confronting Dislocations: The Impact of Community Resistance on Removals in São Paulo, Brazil.”
Urban Affairs Association Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA (April 2013), “Mega-Event Development in Rio de Janeiro: The Impact of Community Mobilization on Dislocations of Residents.”
Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, Chicago, IL (April 2012), “Does Welfare Provision Strengthen Democracy? Assessing the Effect of Brazil’s Bolsa Familia Program on Democratic Support and Satisfaction.”
Latin American Studies Association Annual Congress, Toronto, Canada (October 2010), “The Creation Effect: Evaluating Commitment in Brazil’s Participatory Housing Councils.”
Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois (April 2011), “Pathways to Participatory Governance: Policy-Making in Brazil’s Municipal Housing Councils.”
Latin American Studies Association Annual Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (June 2009), “Seats at the Table: Civil Society and Participatory Governance in Brazilian Housing Policy.”
American Political Science Association Annual Conference, Boston, MA (August 2008), “The Impact of Direct Action on Electoral Outcomes: Evidence from Brazil and the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST).”
Service
Advisor to the International Public Service and Development track for the Rutgers-Camden Masters in Public Administration Program, 2015 to the present.
Dissertation Committee member for Public Affairs doctoral candidates Patricia Ciorici and Jason Rivera, 2015/2016.
Chair, Faculty Life Committee, Faculty Senate, Rutgers University, Camden, 2014 – present. Member of the Committee since 2013.
Member of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Cuba, Centers for Global Advancement and International Affairs, 2015 – present.
Representative for the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, Learning Abroad Committee, Rutgers University, Camden. October 2012 – present.
Lecturer, Latin American Studies Program, Rutgers University, Camden, 2011 – present.
Affiliated Faculty, Center for Urban Research and Education, Rutgers University, Camden, 2011 – present.
Skills
Methods: Trained in quantitative (econometric) and qualitative (interviewing, participant observation) analysis.
Languages: Advanced Portuguese and Spanish.
Save
Save