About Jess
Hi there! Thanks for stopping by my site. My contact information is on the next page over.
I'm a doctoral student in the Department of Political Science at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM. I moved to Albuquerque permanently in 2009 for an internship at Sandia National Laboratories and to attend graduate school after completing an undergraduate degree at the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I'm originally from Little Rock, Arkansas. I still have family in the area and travel back at least once a year. The picture at left was taken on a research-scouting trip to Geneva, Switzerland in Summer 2015. I was lucky enough to visit UNHCR headquarters and meet with the head of the archival fonds there, and I hope to return soon. I have several manuscripts in development on this topic. |
Research Interests
My dissertation research focuses on the international politics surrounding large scale forced migrations. In particular, I'm interested in the various responses of European states to the recent Syrian refugee crisis, and this forms the primary case study for the project. I employ a network analysis framework to understand how strategic interactions among states in the region produces forced-migrant friendly (or unfriendly) policies. Currently, I am hoping to produce computer simulations that help us understand how shifts in these policies affect patterns of forced migrant movement in the region.
My other research interests include the determinants of sexual violence in-and-out of conflict; the politics of carbon emissions reductions and climate change-induced migrations; and WMD/security issues. I have a co-authored paper on sexual violence committed by government security forces in peacetime and wartime in the International Area Studies Review. In this paper we find, contrary to the common assumption that conflict makes sexual violence worse, that sexual violence levels before and upon the onset of conflict, on average, do not change. With regard to carbon emissions reduction, I am a co-author on a working paper exploring the impact of the Kyoto Protocol on the carbon intensity of states' economies.
I spent several years in the private sector working on CBRN weapons threat reduction at the beginning of my graduate career, and I have published on the topic of chemical weapons in The Nonproliferation Review.
My other research interests include the determinants of sexual violence in-and-out of conflict; the politics of carbon emissions reductions and climate change-induced migrations; and WMD/security issues. I have a co-authored paper on sexual violence committed by government security forces in peacetime and wartime in the International Area Studies Review. In this paper we find, contrary to the common assumption that conflict makes sexual violence worse, that sexual violence levels before and upon the onset of conflict, on average, do not change. With regard to carbon emissions reduction, I am a co-author on a working paper exploring the impact of the Kyoto Protocol on the carbon intensity of states' economies.
I spent several years in the private sector working on CBRN weapons threat reduction at the beginning of my graduate career, and I have published on the topic of chemical weapons in The Nonproliferation Review.
Extra-curricular Interests
I'm a beer enthusiast -- in that I like to try new beers, especially IPAs, but know relatively little about the brewing process -- and am as active as my free time in graduate school will allow. New Mexico affords ample opportunities for camping, hiking, and rock climbing (see cover photo), and I try to get outdoors as much as possible.