I am an Assistant Professor of International Studies at Hawaiʻi Pacific University in Honolulu. I joined the faculty at HPU in 2017 and teach courses in Political Science, International Studies, and the MA program in Diplomacy and Military Studies. I serve as the chair for the International studies major and act as thesis advisor to numerous wonderful MA students. In 2021, I created the new minor in Human Rights. 

Research, teaching, and community engagement are my passions. In 2021, I was named a Fulbright Nehru scholar to carry out research on inter-religious peace-building in the Indian state of Kerala. In 2021, I was also selected as HPU's Teacher of the Year which was very exciting considering the challenges related to Covid and the necessary adaptation to online, hybrid, and socially distanced/masked in-person classes. 

My research focuses on peace and security with a regional specialization in South Asia. I have a broad interest in human security, particularly as it relates to climate, religious nationalism, development, and gender. My research and teaching background have helped me secure external funding from the NEH and International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC). In 2019 I was selected as ICNC teaching fellow and developed a new graduate and undergraduate course on civil resistance.

In addition to my research and teaching I serve as the Model UN co-advisor for HPU as well as the Fulbright, Marshall, and CLS advisor for the university. I am currently serving as faculty senator for the College of Liberal Arts. 

I love learning languages and am actively studying Malayalam (നമസ്കാരം), Chinese (你好), and Hindi (नमस्ते). I believe learning the language is an important part of being a regional specialist and a comparativist. I also speak Spanish and some French.  Because I am a resident of Hawaiʻi I have also taken two years of ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i.

On a personal level, I enjoy arts and nature. I am a lifelong dancer and my first job was teaching dance.  For the past two years I have also been learning Odissi classical dance from Akari Ueoka (www.akaridance.com), which has given me a deeper appreciation for the Indian arts. I am also an environmentalist and do my part to reduce, as much as possible, my impact on the earth. Since Covid began, I have developed a passion for rescuing and rehabilitating injured birds and hope to expand upon this in the future, with the ultimate goal of converting my home into an animal sanctuary and garden with native plants.

Beyond my academic work I serve on the Board of Directors for the Gandhi Institute for International Peace to help promote peace initiatives in the community. I also actively help Afghans at risk, particularly human rights activists, by filing for their humanitarian parole and sending them financial assistance. I have raised over $25,000 and filed applications for more than 30 people. If you would like to help my efforts please see details here:  

https://gofund.me/0790a1c2