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 book project, Aiding or Failing the Bureaucracy? Foreign Aid in Central Government Bureaucracies, investigates how foreign assistance alters the motivations and performance of central‑government civil servants. Beyond my book project, I study the strategies civil‑society organizations use to operate under repression, the ways meritocracy in government influence citizens’ willingness to pay taxes, how gendered cultural norms color perceptions of clientelism and corruption, and how refugees’ views of resettlement policies affect their efforts to integrate. Together, this body of work highlights the complexities of governance in developing countries across a diverse group of actors.

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.