I am affiliated faculty at the Schar School of Policy & Government at George Mason University. My current research interests are in examining the deleterious impact of religious bias on civil society in the United States and mapping civil society efforts to combat hate crimes and incidents motivated by religious bias.
My commentary on issues related to cultural diplomacy, politics, religion, and international affairs has been carried by Associated Press, Religion News Service, The Conversation, the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and the Houston Chronicle, among others.
From 2022-23, I worked as a consultant for the Religion & Society Program at The Aspen Institute where I convened its Dismantling Hate cohort in spring 2023. The work of the Dismantling Hate cohort focused on the potential of restorative justice solutions as an alternative to carceral solutions to hate crimes and incidents, especially those motivated by religious bias.
From 2017-2020, I worked as a consultant to the British Council on the role of religion in cultural relations and cultural diplomacy. In this role, I convened expertise at the intersection of religion and public policy under the Bridging Voices program. Bridging Voices supported three transatlantic research projects focused on the role of religion in promoting social justice in instances of forced displacement, issues related to Sexual Diversity and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and the concept of a ‘Muslim Atlantic’. My work with Bridging Voices is showcased in the project E-Book that highlights the work of three transatlantic academic consortia and includes reflections on the project by key stakeholders in the US, UK, and Europe.
My doctoral dissertation involved a comparative historical analysis of state-religion relations in Western Europe, with a focus on comparative historical patterns of engagement between Western European states and Jewish and Muslim communities in the UK, France, and the Netherlands.