I am Associate Professor at the School of Public Service at DePaul University where I teach graduate courses on sustainable international development, the management of international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), public policy implementation, and cross-sector relations.

My research draws on organizational theory, urban sociology, planning, anthropology, and political science. Broadly, I examine how public, private, and nonprofit actors respond to complex social challenges in rapidly changing urban environments. My work focuses on three interconnected areas: governance and organizational behavior; housing and urban transformation; and migration, displacement, and housing insecurity. 

Across these themes, I study how households, community organizations, nonprofits, developers, and government agencies navigate questions of homeownership, resettlement, affordable housing, migration, homelessness, and development. Much of my research is situated in India, although I also conduct comparative international research on migration and housing challenges across global cities. My projects are often undertaken in collaboration with organizations seeking to improve policy and practice. 

My first book, A Place to Call Home: Women as Agents of Change in Mumbai (2019), draws on ethnographic research among women displaced by basti clearance and relocated through Mumbai's large-scale resettlement programs. The book examines how women navigate displacement, homeownership, and neighborhood change while actively shaping processes of urban transformation and place-making.

My current research examines market-rate affordable housing, peri-urban development, and homeownership pathways in India's rapidly urbanizing regions. I am also investigating housing insecurity and homelessness among irregular migrants, with recent comparative work exploring how private citizens, governments and civil society organizations respond to migrant housing needs in cities across North America, South America, Europe, and Africa.  

Before entering academia in the United States, I helped establish a microfinance institution in southern India and worked in housing finance and development organizations in both urban and rural settings. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, a Master’s in Social Work, both from India, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Design & Planning (specialization in Public and International Affairs) from Virginia Tech.