I am a historian who writes about modern American politics, social and cultural history, and U.S. foreign policy. I received my PhD from Yale University and hold two MA degrees, one from Yale and another from the University of Georgia, where I also completed a B.A. and graduated with top honors and a 4.0 GPA. I’m currently a tenured professor in History; Urban Studies; Women’s & Gender Studies; and Crime, Law, & Society at the College of Charleston, but I live in Fairfield, CT with my family.

Before moving to Charleston, I was the Kirk Distinguished Visiting Professor at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta and a Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2016-2017, I was invited to return to Yale as the Robina Fellow at the Gilder Lehrman Center and a Visiting Associate Professor in History.

My career in academia has inspired me to expand my work as a teacher, mentor, and researcher by exploring new fields and new disciplines. I am a firm believer in interdisciplinary education. In recent years, I have enrolled in a coding bootcamp; completed non-credit courses on economics, technical analysis, and project management; and done intensive training in remote instruction techniques. I have also worked as an educational consultant for two EdTech companies and have worked with clients all over the world.

My forthcoming book manuscript, The Wickedest City in America: The Rise and Fall of Organized Crime in the Jim Crow South, is under contract with Harvard University Press. An article based on research for this book was published by the University of Illinois Press in a volume called Crime and Punishment in the Jim Crow South. The book has also been optioned for a television series. My first book, Dixie Highway: Road Building and the Making of the Modern South, 1900-1930, was published by the University of North Carolina Press. The book received awards from the Georgia Historical Society, the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council, and the Business History Conference.

In addition to my academic publications, I have contributed essays and op-eds for outlets such as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the History News Network, Huffington Post, and Like the Dew. I have been invited to give lectures at many colleges and universities, including the University of Georgia, Yale University, and Michigan State University. I have also delivered lectures at the Virginia Festival of the Book and the National Archives, both of which aired on C-SPAN, and have done radio interviews and podcasts for NPR and for the Gilder Lehrman Center at Yale University.

In my spare time, I am a runner (5x veteran of the NYC Marathon), a motorcycle enthusiast, and a swing trader. I also serve as an officer and board member for the Yale Graduate School's Alumni Association, where I co-chair professional development programming for current Yale graduate students.