I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science and a faculty affiliate in the Department of Geography and Urban Studies and the Institute for Public Affairs at Temple University. My interests lie in American politics and public policy. Much of my research examines how institutional design affects political participation and policy outcomes. My work has appeared in the journals American Journal of Political Science, Political Analysis, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, and Urban Affairs Review, as well as in several edited volumes. My book, Governing the Tap: Special District Governance and the New Local Politics of Water (MIT Press, 2009), examines the impact of governmental organization on policies for the sustainable use of water resources in American communities. My research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Haynes Foundation, and the JEHT Foundation, and I have received three Best Paper awards for work presented at the American Political Science Association's annual meetings.  I received my Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2005.