INSTITUTIONAL PORTFOLIO
The Geography of Adequacy
Applying Critical Geography and Race Theory to expose the spatial and fiscal drivers of institutional inequality.
Critical Geography of Race (CGR)
CGR is a synthesis of Critical Geography and Critical Race Theory that examines how race and policy intertwine to shape physical landscapes. We argue that racialized disparities are not social accidents but the predictable result of spatially organized injustice.
Theoretical Pillars
01
Historical Patterning: Linking modern disparities to past discriminatory policies like redlining.
02
White Spatial Imaginary: How race-neutral policies function as proxies for exclusion.
03
Racial Capitalism: Extracting value from group-differentiated spatial vulnerability.
Current Project: 2026-2029
TISA’s Equitable Promise
Evaluating Tennessee’s student-centered funding formula to ensure weighted allocations deliver genuine adequacy for high-needs districts.
Quantify Disparities
Analyzing TISA weighted allocations across racially and geographically distinct districts to identify significant differences in per-pupil funding.
Access Adequacy
Surveying CFOs and principals to measure perceived adequacy and administrative burden across four CGR-informed district archetypes.
Practioner Toolkit
Developing the TISA Adequacy Audit Toolkit to provide actionable guidance for district leaders and policymakers.
Research Implementation Roadmap
Year 1: Acquisition & Deployment
Acquire TISA administrative data (2026–27) from various state sources limited to public data sources.
Year 2: Acquisition & Deployment
Conduct multivariate regression and multilevel modeling (MLM) to test funding disparities and perceived burden. Create survey from validated model and submit to administrators, state officers, etc.
Year 3: Synthesis & Dissemination
Finalize the TISA Adequacy Audit Toolkit and publish findings in peer-reviewed, open-access journals.
Flint Reimagined
A Critical Geography of Race and the Right to Thrive. This scholarly analysis moves beyond the water crisis to examine how decades of deliberate policy choices constructed a landscape of inequality in Flint, Michigan.
NASHVILLE REGIONAL ANALYSIS
The Spaital Echo
Analyzing how the economic boom in Nashville creates a "Spatial Echo" of displacement reproduced in receiver cities like Clarksville and Murfreesboro.
$10K
The "Growth Penalty" funding deficit per student in receiver districts.
19%
Higher disciplinary prevalence in under-resourced receiver schools.