I have a B.A. in Sociology and Latin American Studies from Trinity University in San Antonio, a General Course Certificate from the London School of Economics, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. My research and teaching interests bring together comparative sociology, the sociology of development, environmental sociology, and organizational sociology. The overarching research goal is to develop a theoretical model and a methodology that can provide insight into issues of sustainable development, the impacts of globalization and restructuring on firm and state strategies and operations, and the creation and reproduction of global socioeconomic inequality.

My research agenda addresses four linked questions from a comparative, historical and transnational perspective. What are the characteristics and consequences of the relationship between society and nature? What are the socioeconomic and environmental consequences of state development strategies? How do firms strategize and act in the context of a globalizing world economy? What roles have raw materials and transport industries played in the evolution of the world economy?

I currently teach Sociology 304: The Nonwestern World. I have also taught at the undergraduate level Introduction to Sociology, Sociology of Organizations, People, Natural Resources and the Environment in the Brazilian Amazon, The Socioeconomic and Environmental Consequences of NAFTA, and The Environment and Development in Latin America. My undergraduate teaching was recognized with an Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award at Kansas State University, one of only four awarded at the university for 1998. At the graduate level, I have taught research methods, qualitative research methods, and a seminar on theories of economic development and the role of natural resource industries in economic development.