Curriculum Vitae

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Education

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Ph.D., Public Policy (Candidate) | Expected May 2026
  • Dissertation: “Interpersonal Violence in Holistic and Partial Post-Conflict Contexts: Essays on Transitional Violence Incentives and Responses after Intrastate Wars”

    Dissertation Completion Fellow, International Studies Association (ISA)

    Saperstein Research Fellow, Wayne State University

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

M.A., Global Studies | May 2021
  • Rotary Peace Fellow, The Rotary Foundation

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

M.A., Political Studies | May 2008
  • Outstanding Graduate Student Fellowship

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

B.A., Political Science | June 2003

Research

Peer-Reviewed Publications

“The Economic Spoiler’s Incentive: How Consent-Based Counternarcotics Policy Fueled Violence in Post- Conflict Colombia”.Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. November, 2025.

“Building Partner Capacity: US Aid to Security Sector Actors” (with Patricia Sullivan and Nathan Marx). Journal of Conflict Resolution. Volume 69, no. 6 (2025): 1033–1058.

“Rediscovering Europe? The Aid Dilemmas During and After the Plan Colombia” (with Francisco Gutierrez Sanin). Conflict, Security & Development. Volume 8, no. 1 (2008): 71-107.

Under Review

“Pacifying Elites, Endangering Communities: A Dual-Arena Theory of Post-Conflict Violence”.

In Progress
  • “Dual Arenas of Violence: Elite Bargaining, Local Insecurity, and the Conditions for Comprehensive Peace in Ongoing Civil Wars”
  • “Peace at the Center, Neglect at the Margins: A Synthetic Control Analysis of International Aid in Post-Agreement Colombia.”
  • “The Violent Spillover of Peace: Unintended Cross-Border Consequences of Peace Agreements in Colombia and Central America.”

Fellowships, Grants, & Honors

External

  • Dissertation Completion Fellowship, The International Studies Association, 2025
  • Research Fellowship, Saperstein Symposium, Wayne State University, 2025
  • Travel Grant ISA Conference 2026, The International Studies Association, 2025
  • Rotary Peace Fellowship, The Rotary Foundation, 2019-2021
  • Peace and Security Top-Level Global Seminar, SIDA, 2009

Internal

  • The Philip and Jane Hammer Fund for Public Policy, 2025
  • Experiential Learning Award, 2025
  • The Graduate Student Transportation Grant, 2025
  • Mellon Conference Travel Award, Institute for the Study of the Americas, 2024
  • Stephens Family Fund for Graduate Student Excellence, 2022
  • Professor Award for Outstanding Performance, Universidad Santo Tomas, 2009
  • Outstanding Graduate Student Fellowship, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 2005-2007