As Senior Lecturer in Methods and Social Sciences at Constructor University (formerly Jacobs University Bremen) and the Coordinator of the Methods Center for the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), my research interests include social cohesion, gender-based violence, and health inequalities. I came to Germany with a German Chancellor Fellowship at Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, but before that I conducted research and evaluation for a large victim assistance organization in New York City. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Psychology from Seattle Pacific University, a Master of Public Health degree from Columbia University, and a PhD in Sociology from BIGSSS.