About Me

Welcome! I am a  Postdoctoral Scholar at the Gender and Security Sector Lab at Cornell University.

I received my Ph.D. in Political Science (International Relations) from the University of North Texas.

I study the role of women and gender identity in conflict and peacebuilding institutions. 

My dissertation is a book project about the cause and effects of transitional justice processes that address legacies of gender inequality and violence against women. I develop a theory to explain when, why, and how gender becomes part of the transitional justice process, and introduce novel data on truth commissions and violence-related trials that engage women and women’s issues. The data I collected for my dissertation contains information on three dimensions of gender inclusion: women’s visible inclusion (testimonies about gendered abuse), commission engagement with women’s groups, and gendered outcomes of justice processes (commission recommendations for gender reform policy and conflict-related trials concerning gendered violence). These data are coded using information from the Transitional Justice Research Collaborative database, official government documents (final reports issued by truth commissions and other government agencies), United Nations reports, NGO reports, and media reporting via Nexis Uni. This project offers a first step toward understanding how transitional justice mechanisms are informed by women, a marginalized identity group often targeted during episodes of violence and mass human rights abuse. 

I teach courses on International Relations, Human Rights, Political Violence, Gender and Conflict, Peace Studies, Transitional Justice, and Research Design and Methods.

Outside of research and teaching, I enjoy spending time with my rescue dogs Barnaby & Tucker, traveling, and trying new cuisine. 

Contact: pdr65@cornell.edu