I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at The Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University. My research lies at the intersection of Comparative Politics, International Development, and Public Policy, with a focus on how governance institutions shape state-building and development in the Global South. I am particularly interested in the impact of foreign aid on domestic governance and the roles of bureaucrats, traditional leaders, and NGOs in shaping political and economic outcomes. My work utilizes a range of research designs and data sources, including survey experiments, interviews, and administrative data.

My current book project, Aiding or Failing the Bureaucracy? Foreign Aid in Central Government Bureaucracies, examines how foreign aid affects the incentives and performance of bureaucrats in aid-recipient countries. In addition, my other research explores how NGOs navigate repressive governments in Cambodia, Uganda, and Serbia, how meritocratic recruitment in municipal governments in Guatemala influences citizens' willingness to pay taxes, how cultural norms shape gendered perceptions of clientelism and corruption in Africa, and how refugees’ perceptions of resettlement policies impact their local integration efforts in Uganda .

I hold a joint PhD in Public Policy and Political Science from Duke University, an MA in International Economic Policy from Sciences Po, and a BA in Commerce from Makerere University. Before joining graduate school, I was a Lecturer at Makerere University Business School and a Research Associate at the Economic Policy Research Centre in Kampala, Uganda. I have also been a consultant with the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, Canada, a visiting researcher at the BRICS Policy Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a visiting scholar at the University of Colorado, Denver’s School of Public Affairs.