Welcome! I am a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University, specializing in American politics and political economy. In May 2025, I graduated with a Ph.D. in Political Science (with departmental distinction) from Yale University. In 2026, I was selected to receive two awards from the American Political Science Association: the Junior Scholar Award in Political Psychology and the Wildavsky Award for Best Dissertation in Religion and Politics. My research is published or forthcoming in Political Behavior, American Politics Research, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Environmental Politics, Research & Politics, and the Yale Journal of International Affairs. Additionally, my co-authored work has been invited to revise and resubmit at the American Journal of Political Science and the Journal of Politics.
The norms and rules that comprise American democracy are eroding. Why? What are the consequences of this trend? And what can be done to address this issue? My research program aims to address these questions. One stream of my research investigates how various forms of political communication (i.e., sermon rhetoric, populist appeals, etc.) shape political preferences. Another strand of my research probes the role of information (i.e., information about social movements, inequality, AI, etc.) in structuring public opinion and policy preferences. A final line of my research explores solutions to address the pressures of populism and mass polarization. This includes a project that tests Americans’ willingness to compromise on a series of multi-dimensional policy tradeoffs (i.e., a conservative immigration policy and a liberal abortion policy, etc.).
At Stanford, I am the instructor of record for a new course I designed entitled Liberalism and Populism in the American Political Economy. In the 2026-2027 academic year, I will also be the instructor of record for a course entitled Citizenship in the 21st Century. At Yale, I obtained the Teaching Certificate and served as a graduate teaching fellow for six courses: Capitalism and Crisis, Introduction to American Politics (twice), Introduction to Comparative Politics, Introduction to Statistics, and Strategic Models of Politics. These classes are discussed in more detail on my teaching page.
I received a Bachelor’s of Business Administration at William and Mary as well as a Master’s of Public Administration at the University of Pennsylvania. Before entering academia, I completed a Leadership Development Program at a Fortune 500 company called Amerigroup (now part of Elevance Health). I also served as the Faculty of Health Sciences Program Coordinator and Office of Undergraduate Studies Business Manager at Virginia Tech.
Contact:
Lendway@Stanford.edu