I am a broadly trained human geographer who specializes in urban and social-cultural geography. My main research interests lie at the intersections of racial and ethnic identity, urban labor market dynamics, and the spatial realization of socioeconomic disadvantage. I also have interests in the geographies of music, sport, and religion; and broad interests in two geographic regions: (1) the U.S. South and (2) Latin America and the Caribbean.

My current research entails work on four distinct projects that address the above interests. These include (1) the impact of neighborhood-level poverty on health disparities among racial and ethnic groups in the urban United States; (2) an investigation of neighborhood-level diversity and residential segregation among racial and ethnic groups in Houston, TX; (3) a comparative study of the varied spatial experiences among multi-racial populations in Brazil and the United States; and (4) the geographical evolution and diffusion of Rap music as a lens to understand regional, urban, and racial identities. In addition to these research projects, I am actively involved in organizing and directing field-based workshops and courses that incorporate the study of blues-culture and music as a means to teach human geography.