Education

• University of Virginia - PhD, Religious Studies (expected completion 2028)
• University of Virginia - MA, Religious Studies (2022)
  • MA Thesis: “The Unfolding of Meditation A Genealogy of "Concentrative vs. Opening-Up Meditation" and the Legacy of Claudio Naranjo's Reformulation of Contemplative Practice for the Transformation of the Self at the Dawn of the New Age” 
• Amherst College - BA cum laude, Psychology and Religion (2015)
• Central University of Tibetan Studies - January Term Academic Exchange in Sarnath, India (2013)

Areas of Specialization

Buddhist Modernities, Buddhism in North America, Theories & Methods in Religious Studies

Research Interests

Modern Buddhist meditation and empirical science discourse, postcolonial and decolonial theories, secularism and modernity, philosophy of attention, Śāntideva.

Research Languages

Tibetan, Spanish, French

Teaching Experience

Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Virginia (2021-present)

• Tibetan Buddhism Introduction, Fall 2023 (Kurtis Schaeffer)
• Introduction to Eastern Religious Traditions, Spring 2023 (Michael Allen)
• Introduction to American Studies, Fall 2022 (Grace Hale & Matthew Hedstrom)
• Religion, Ethics, and Global Environments, Spring 2022 (Willis Jenkins)
• Buddhist Meditation and the Modern Secular World, January 2021 (David Germano & Kurtis Schaeffer)

Selected Academic Awards 

The Moseley Prize, Third Prize, Amherst College (2015). The Moseley Prize is awarded to seniors for the best essays on a subject approved by the Department of Religion. Essay Title: “The Buddha from Brooklyn: A Case Study in Western Lamas and New Buddhisms.”    

Conference Presentations and Service

• American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA (November 2024) 
  Presenter: "Apramāda and Yoga in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions: Text, Theory, and Practice
• American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX (November 2023)
  Chair, Panel Organizer, and Presider: “Norms of Attention between Hindu and Buddhist Philosophy
• American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (November 2022)
• • Chair and Panel Organizer: “Norms of Attention in South Asian Buddhism”
  • Presenter: “How to Judge Attention: Mindfulness, Vigilance, and Awareness in Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryavatara”
• Contemplative Research Conference, Virtual (November 2020)
  • Presenter: “Contemplative Training and Emotion Regulation”