Research & Professional Philosophy

Why do some organizations navigate disruption effectively while others, with equal commitment and comparable resources, struggle to sustain their missions?

I've spent the last year trying to answer that question empirically, through in-depth interviews with leaders at more than 50 community-based organizations across the United States.

Linking Community and Organizational Resilience

Community resilience and organizational resilience are fundamentally interconnected. Communities depend on the community-based organizations (CBOs) that serve them, and those organizations can only sustain their missions if they have the internal capacity to adapt and persist through disruption.

My research investigates how local hazard context (including the economic pressures, social dynamics, and environmental conditions surrounding an organization) shapes what feels normal, urgent, and possible inside these organizations. Understanding these dynamics is essential to building forms of resilience that are not only theoretically sound, but workable in practice.

Before recommending solutions, I want to understand the operating environment. What pressures are normalized, what gets overlooked because it's always been that way, and where there's room for meaningful change.

A Mixed-Methods Approach

My research combines qualitative and quantitative methods. Interviews surface the mechanisms, i.e., the why behind patterns. Quantitative modeling tests whether those patterns generalize and at what scale. Together they produce a fuller picture. I bring expertise in multilevel regression modeling, qualitative coding, participatory research design, and cross-sector coordination.

I'm also committed to community-driven data collection and implementation science. These approaches treat the people closest to a problem as essential partners in diagnosing it and designing solutions. For me, the measure of good research is that it is both rigorous and relevant to the people doing the work.

Turning Research Into Actionable Strategy

The nonprofit sector operates in a persistent state of resource scarcity, a condition that disasters intensify. Organizations need better tools to anticipate resource needs, plan for surges in demand, and make strategic decisions under uncertainty. Yet most are reactive by necessity. Even when leaders recognize the value of resilience planning, they often lack the time and capacity to build formal systems.

I am interested in helping organizations function better. I'm drawn to the work of translating academic analysis into practical guidance, helping organizations identify high-leverage opportunities (such as collaborations with local academic institutions), build planning capacity that outlasts any individual staff member, and make better decisions under uncertainty. I'm also exploring how AI tools might responsibly support this work, particularly for organizations that lack dedicated planning or data infrastructure.

My background spans nonprofit management, humanitarian operations, and applied research. That combination gives me an unusual vantage point. I understand organizational challenges on an analytical and insider level.