My research agenda has focused on the reproduction (and disruption) of social inequalities across varying sites and time periods. I use a range of qualitative methods in my work, including oral histories, ethnographic fieldwork, and interviews.

In my primary line of work, I bridge the sociological literature on status and economic sociology with the sociology of education. I examine education as a social and cultural institution using the case of admissions to private nursery, preschool, and kindergartens in New York City. Most research on admissions to elite educational institutions focus on entry to high school, college, or graduate settings. While these gatekeeping moments are illuminating and of consequence to long-term outcomes, they cloud numerous mechanisms at play earlier in the life cycle and educational systems. My research on the highly selective early admissions process reveals the tenuous construction of merit and highlights a critical moment when parental and organizational decision-making lay the foundation for life-long wealth and educational achievement gaps. Several papers, both under review and in progress, examine different facets of this line of work.

My secondary line of research includes collaborations situated within my broader interests in culture and inequality. While these projects vary in data type and local contexts, all are guided by the question of asking how culture and resources come together to shape action in different communities or organizational settings.