About Me

I am an Assistant Professor of Security Studies at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. I formerly was  a Research Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an Assistant Professor at the  University of Alabama in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. My research examines the relationship between terrorism, domestic security sector actors, counterterrorism/counterinsurgency, the public, and civil conflict. The three streams of my research address the following questions or themes: (1) How can we improve public confidence in domestic security forces in states affected by insurgent-terrorist violence and prolonged civil conflict?; (2) What impact do foreign fighters have on conflict violence and local insurgent-terrorist groups operations?; (3) What impact does the continued expansion of the private security industry across sub-Saharan Africa have on domestic security sector responses to terrorism?

I received my PhD in Justice, Law and Criminology from the American University (AU) in Washington D.C. (2020), my MA in Intelligence and International Security from King's College London (2015), and my BA in International Relations from the United States International University - Africa (2014).

NOTE: As you may have surmised, my research has little to do with animals. I just really love elephants and the occasional lion.