I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University in the Institute for Politics and Strategy. I received my PhD in May 2018 from the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University, specializing in International Political Economy (IPE). From 2015 to 2017 I also served as the lead editorial assistant for International Interactions. I love everything I have taught: IPE, a survey course on economics (micro/macro/finance and international), in addition to advanced regression analysis.

My professional origins began with my service in the US Marine Corps from 2005 to 2012, with one tour of duty in Iraq in 2008. It may sound cliché, but this was really a transformative experience for me and left in me a deep sense of the importance of service, in being bonded to people who are dramatically different from yourself, and in the solemn responsibility to get policy RIGHT. I began learning the Arabic language and about Islamic culture, and provided my fellow Marines with some basic training in these areas (it was clear my knowledge was superior to the State Department rep assigned to teach us Marines). At Arizona State, where I received my Bachelors Degree, I earned certificates of study in Arabic, Islamic and International studies. It was during this time that my life ambitions crystallized and I knew I wanted to pursue graduate studies in International Relations. While my current research has taken me beyond this focus on Middle-Eastern politics and issues with contemporary Islamic discourse, these original passions of mine persist to this day.

So how did I end up studying IPE? Essentially, the US financial crisis and Ron Paul pushed me over the edge. I became fascinated by the criticisms of the Federal Reserves' crisis policies (of which Ron Paul was the standard bearer). For one, did the Fed contribute to the housing bubble? Were the Fed's monetary policy innovations making the crisis worse? I was surprised by how many personal friends seemed to embrace Paul's anti-Fed rhetoric (and embrace of the gold standard). So, the game was on. And I was hooked. And they are all wrong, by the way.

Aside from academic pursuits, I love astronomy and vow to someday own a telescope sufficient to observe the spiral arms of Andromeda. I love sports (and am a devout Green Bay Packers fan), and enjoy most athletic activities (I am a ToughMudder).  I have a wonderful family,  a wife with 5* amazing**  kids.

* Not a typo

** This adjective is usually correct. In expectation, this is a correct statement.