I am a graduate of Butler University (B.S.) and the University of Akron (J.D., Graduate Certificate in Applied Politics).  I am a second-year IGERT student at the University at Buffalo – SUNY in the Department of Geography.  I am a political and economic geographer, with a regional interest in East Asia.  My research interests involve how institutions affect economies at various levels.  Some recent research areas include wage differentials in North Korea, and the efforts by cities to use zoning laws to keep out sexual predators.  As my research is multi-disciplinary, I have taken coursework at UB in areas such as law, economics, management systems science and industrial engineering to find new insight into geographic research areas.