I received my PhD in Sociology and Social Policy at Princeton University and completed a postdoc at Microsoft Research New England.

In my research, I analyze the social consequences of data-intensive surveillance practices. My first book, Predict and Surveil: Data, Discretion, and the Future of Policing, draws on ethnographic research within the Los Angeles Police Department to understand the social implications of how law enforcement uses predictive analytics and new surveillance technologies. In earlier work, I developed a theory of "system avoidance," using survey data to test the relationship between criminal legal contact and involvement in medical, financial, labor market, and educational institutions. I am currently working on a project examining the role of exposure to the criminal legal system in shaping racial and ethnic disparities in health, aging, and mortality. 

In addition to my research, I am committed to expanding access to higher education. To that end, I have been volunteer teaching in prisons since 2012. In 2017, I founded the Texas Prison Education Initiative.