I am an Assistant Professor at Indiana University Bloomington's O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, with an adjunct appointment in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. My research sits at the intersection of Information Systems, Human-Computer Interaction, and usable privacy and security. I study how people actually use and adapt digital systems when the assumptions built into those systems do not match the realities of their lives. I am particularly interested in the social and relational ways people make technologies work for their circumstances—and what these adaptations mean for trust, identity, privacy, security, access, and accountability. I use these insights to rethink how digital systems and the institutions that govern them should be designed. Prior to joining IU, I was a postdoctoral researcher at Carnegie Mellon University's CyLab Security and Privacy Institute where I was honored to be co-advised by Giulia Fanti in collaboration with Asssane Gueye. I earned my PhD in Information Systems from University of Cape Town in South Africa.
Research Areas: Information Systems . Human-computer Interaction . Usable Privacy & Security . ICT for Development (ICT4D)
Student Research: I am continually seeking highly motivated undergraduate and master’s students to join research projects (for academic credit, with the possibility of paid opportunities during the summer). Although I do not currently have funding for graduate students, I would be glad to connect with those who have secured independent support. Prospective students are encouraged to email me.
Research
My research is organized around a broader question: How should we understand, design, and govern digital systems when the assumptions built into them do not match how people actually live?
Across my work, I examine where these mismatches emerge, how people adapt or reconfigure technologies in response, and the consequences for trust, identity, privacy, security, access, accountability, and autonomy. My current research develops these questions across three interconnected areas:
Socially Mediated Access, Identity & Trust
I study how access to digital systems is distributed across relationships, intermediaries, and communities, challenging conventional assumptions of independent users and exclusive control. Current work examines mediated and relational authentication, digital identity, delegation, and the privacy, security, and accountability implications of socially distributed access.
User-Constructed Digital Infrastructures
I examine how people appropriate, combine, and extend technologies to create functionality that formal systems do not provide. This work considers how users and communities construct their own mechanisms for interoperability, trust, accountability, and governance around digital platforms.
Digital Boundaries, Visibility & Autonomy
I study how people manage the connectivity, visibility, and obligations created by digital technologies. Current work examines how immigrants use technology to negotiate expectations and responsibilities across transnational relationships, alongside broader questions about digital legibility, inclusion, and autonomy.
News
- 8/06/25: Our paper was awarded the IAPP SOUPS Privacy Award!
- 1/1/25: Excited to be starting as an Assistant Professor at Indiana University!
- 8/28/23: Excited to have been accepted to the EECS Rising Stars Workshop 2023!
- 10/05/23: Thrilled to have been part of the future faculty diversity program at Virginia Tech! This was an enriching experience
- 7/21/23: Honored to have given a talk at NIST (U.S. Department of Commerce) on challenges and opportunities in the use of identification (ID) for mobile money services.
- 6/28/23: Honored to be the speaker at the Upanzi Network Digital Public Goods webinar series.
- 4/01/23: I am on the PC for IEEE symposium on security and privacy. I look forward to engaging with the great pieces of work.
- 10/10/22: Excited to be sharing our preliminary insights on the role of human agents in privacy and security of digital financial systems at the CyLab Africa summit on Digital Public Goods (Kigali, Rwanda)