bio

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at CSUSB and Principal Investigator/ Director of the Learning to Learn (L2L) Lab. (I live in Los Angeles!)

My research explores the development of child and adolescent learning by examining individual, developmental, and sociocultural factors impacting real-world outcomes. This work employs both laboratory and field-based methodologies, where I bridge the fields of cognitive science and education. My work is guided by a broader goal of informing policy, practice, and intervention that aim to reduce societal inequalities, some of which stem from learning environments and social contexts.

My PhD in Developmental Psychology was under Dr. Deanna Kuhn at Columbia University.

I completed postdoctoral fellowships at UCLA and UCSD with Dr. William A. Sandoval on projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Hosted by Dr. Tania Lombrozo, I completed the micro-Sabbatical program at Princeton University.

My undergraduate advisor at UC Berkeley was Robert Reich, J. D., where I studied both Psychology and Public Policy.

A 2021 Deeper Learning Fellow with the American Education Research Association (AERA), my work has been supported by the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research (AIR).

I've previously served as faculty in the Department(s) of Psychology at Thomas Jefferson University (where I began tenure track), as well as UPenn and Columbia University. 

updated December 2025