I am a Lecturer (NZ equivalent of Assistant Professor) in the School in Psychology at the University of Auckland, where I direct the Well-Being and Morality (WAM) Lab. My lab conducts research on the ways in which other people matter in the pursuit of a good life. Specifically, we have three main lines of research examining (a) social interactions and well-being, (b) well-being and morality, and (c) moral improvement. Our goal is to theoretically contribute to our scientific understanding of the personality and social processes that help people lead a good life, with practical implications for well-being and moral improvement in the real world. We use a variety of naturalistic and experimental methods, including experience sampling, naturalistic audio recordings, informant reports, language analysis, field experiments, and personality change interventions.

Prior to joining the University of Auckland in 2026, I was an Assistant Professor at Washington University in St. Louis and a MindCORE Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. I received my PhD from UC Davis and my BA (Honours) from the University of Melbourne. For more details, please see my CV.

In my personal life, I strive to promote well-being by living vegan and have pledged to give to the most effective animal welfare and global poverty causes. For fun, I am an avid Brazilian Zouk dancer, a beginner handpan player, a long-time classical singer, rock-climber, and dog-mom to my Pomeranian, Kumara. Thanks for visiting my website!