Welcome! I am a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University. In May 2025, I graduated with a Ph.D. in Political Science (with departmental distinction) from Yale University.
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 or inequality) in structuring public opinion and policy preferences. A final line of my research explores solutions to 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.).
My research is published or conditionally accepted at American Politics Research, Environmental Politics, and Political Behavior. My co-authored paper that meta-analyzes the literature on populist appeals and vote choice has a R&R at the American Journal of Political Science. Additionally, my research on sermon rhetoric and White evangelical support for the Republican Party has an R&R at Political Behavior. Finally, I have a co-authored paper on the political psychology of historical analogies and foreign policy attitudes that has an R&R at The Journal of Conflict Resolution. I have presented my research at a wide range of organizations, including the American Political Science Association, Harvard University, Princeton University, and Yale University. Funding for my research has been provided by the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and other organizations.
Teaching is a great passion of mine! This fall, I am the instructor of record for a new course at Stanford I designed entitled Liberalism and Populism in the American Political Economy. At Yale, I obtained Yale’s 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.
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