I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the Director of the Human Context of Science and Technology program.

My research focuses on responsibility for climate change. Recent research identifies and theorizes a gap in the existing literature—often centered on the distribution between the wealthy and the poorest—regarding emissions from the world’s middle-class individuals and countries. I consider whether emissions between luxury and subsistence are permissible and whether it is fair to seek opportunities to reduce emissions among those in the global middle class.  My next research project develops a theory of climate change reparations detailing what wrongful emitters owe those impacted by climate change. In past research, I have defended national responsibility for climate change against the objection that holding nations responsible is unfair to citizens, who would ultimately bear the burdens of wrongdoing for which they are not responsible. I argue that the objection is based on false assumptions about collective responsibility and civic responsibility.

In my teaching, I engage with students about the most contentious issues of our time, including climate change, abortion, artificial intelligence, free speech, global poverty, and what it means to be happy. My goal as a teacher is to help students discover their own reasoned position on a meaningful issue, teach them philosophical tools for engaging with others, and help them gain an appreciation for reasonable disagreement in the classroom and beyond.

I earned my Ph.D. in Philosophy from Stanford University in August 2017. I also have degrees in philosophy from Northern Arizona University (BA) and the University of Montana (MA), where I also studied Forestry and Conservation. Before graduate school, I worked with the US Forest Service in wilderness management, trail construction, and cabin maintenance in Southern Arizona and Southeast Alaska.