I am an Assistant Professor in Public Policy at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public and International Affairs. I am affiliated with the Department of Political Science and the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS). I earned my Ph.D. and M.A. in political science from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and my B.A. from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. I grew up in Trujillo, Peru.
My book,The Politics of Healthcare Expansion: Policy Reform and Political Parties in Latin America(under contract with Cambridge University Press), explores the variation in the expansion of social benefits across new democracies. Through an in-depth comparison of the healthcare reform processes in Chile, Mexico, and Peru that began in the 2000s, I demonstrate how the political process behind the formation of these reforms significantly impacted their success. I analyze the entire policymaking process, from agenda-setting and debate to implementation. This study is based on original data I gathered during 12 months of field research, including over 150 in-depth interviews with political elites, technocrats, and leaders of interest groups.
I study comparative social policy, with a focus on how governments and societies respond to challenges in healthcare and migration. My work has been funded by the Centennial Center at the American Political Science Association (APSA), the Social and Economic Research Consortium (CIES), Washington and Lee University (Lenfest Grants 2019-2023), and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Dissertation Completion, Mellon Dissertation, Off-Campus Dissertation, and Burbank Research Fellowships, Uhlman Summer Research Awards 2014-2017, and Tinker Foundation Pre-dissertation Field Research Grant).