My research examines the intersections of service organizations, societal systems, criminalization, and race, and how these intersections impact young people. I believe that institutions such as the U.S. education system are responsible for uplifting the power of young people and that the school-to-prison pipeline is one of the most egregious displays of youth disempowerment.

 

My goal as an academic is to do research that is not only useful to the community, but that transforms systems (such as the educational system) into loving environments that contribute to what hooks calls "homeplace" (hooks, 1990). I use critical race theory as my primary framework in order to center race and power in my analysis. I want my work to be useful not only to those most impacted but to those who make decisions about how that impact happens.