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, Tibetan Buddhism

Research Interests

History of scientific research on meditation, contemporary meditation practices and traditions, Buddhist philosophy and ethics, science and religion, postcolonial and decolonial theories, secularism, philosophy of attention, Socially Engaged Buddhism.

Research Languages

Tibetan, Spanish, French

Teaching Experience

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

• 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

• 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”

Other Professional and Academic Employment 

• Lab Manager and Research Associate, Center for Neural Decision Making (now Center for Applied Research in Decision Making), Fox Business School at Temple University
• Research Assistant, Expanding Children's Early Learning (ExCEL) Project, Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Summer Research Assistant, Dan Gilbert Lab, Psychology Department, Harvard University
• Research Analyst, Strategy & Business Development Team, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Summer Research Assistant, Decision Research, Psychology Department, University of Oregon