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, inequality, AI, etc.) 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 forthcoming in Political Behavior, American Politics Research, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Environmental Politics, and the Yale Journal of International Affairs. Additionally, I have R&Rs at the American Journal of Political Science, Political Behavior, and Research and Politics. Please see my research page for more information about my research.
Teaching is a 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. 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