About

My research and policy work focus on issues of urbanization, labor, economic development, and spatial inequality.

I am an Assistant Professor in the School of City and Regional Planning (SCaRP) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. My scholarship lies at the intersection of labor, economic geography and urbanization. I am especially interested in processes of uneven development and the ways in which people and communities experience and shape major 21st-century transitions. I think like a geographer, but my research is inspired by the aim of planners to positively shape institutions and their impacts on people and places.

In addition to my academic research, I work with both governmental and non-profit institutions in their efforts to create inclusive urban economies. I’ve spent over a decade conducting applied research in emerging economies as founding partner of the Just Jobs Network, a non-profit institute based in New Delhi that advises governments on labor market policies. I am currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative, whose mission is to close the racial wealth gap in Atlanta and across the Southeast. I served as an economic advisor to Los Angeles City Councilwoman, Nithya Raman. I have also consulted with the World Bank and other multilaterals on issues of sustainable development.

My research has been supported by a range of academic institutions and foundations: the International Development Research Centre (Canada), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, London School of Economics, Asian Development Bank, U.S. Departments of Education and State, USC Lusk Center, Solidarity Center, and German Marshall Fund. I’ve been awarded the Fulbright-Hays and Fulbright-Nehru research fellowships.

My opinion writing has appeared in media outlets such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Hindustan Times, Indian Express, and The Jakarta Post. I speak Hindi and Bahasa Indonesia. I obtained my PhD in urban planning and development from the Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California.