Welcome! I am a fifth year PhD Candidate in Government at Cornell University.  I am also a visiting researcher at Uniwersytet SWPS (Warszawa), in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Democracy and Polish National Election Study.  

My research interests are in comparative politics and political behavior, which I study using both quantitative and qualitative methods including experimental and causal inference research designs, elite and mass surveys, interviews, focus groups, and comparative case studies. My dissertation book project examines civic participation, demonstrating how and why civil society can encourage individuals to depolarize and reject democratic erosion. Outside of this work, I maintain an ongoing research agenda on political communication and democratic resilience. While my primary focus is on post-communist democracies in Eastern Europe, my work also draws comparisons with cases of democratic backsliding globally.

My work has been published in Perspectives on Politics and Government & Opposition, and an edited volume from Cambridge University Press, and has been generously supported by the US Departments of State and Education, APSA Centennial Center, Hoover Institution, Roper Center, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, American Councils, and Cornell Einaudi Center. My dissertation was also awarded the 2025 Kahin Prize in International Relations by the Cornell Department of Government for the “most promising dissertation on foreign politics.'' 

At Cornell, I am an affiliate of the Center on Global Democracy, Institute for European Studies, and Cornell Center for the Social Sciences and a graduate research assistant for the Russian Election Study. I am a co-founder and convener of the East European Politics Graduate Workshop.

Prior to Cornell, I earned my AM in Russian, East European, and Central Asian studies from Harvard University and a BA in History and Political Science with highest honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In Spring 2024, I was a Junior Visiting Scholar and Brettschneider Exchange Student at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. 

Hailing from North Carolina, I’m an avid fan of the Tar Heels and prefer Eastern to Western NC BBQ. 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about myself or my work, applying to graduate school, or for a copy of my CV. You can contact me at kfc45 [at] cornell [dot] edu.