About Me

I received my PhD in Linguistics at Stanford University. After grad school, I spent a year as a postdoc in Computer Science, Linguistics, and Public Policy at Georgetown University. I'm originally from the Chicago suburbs.

Education

PhD in Linguistics, Stanford University, 2024
BA in Linguistics, University of Chicago, 2015

Research Interests

My research examines the ways in which context, linguistic meaning, and social cognition jointly enable linguistic communication. Some of my interests within linguistic theory include modality, linguistic vagueness/imprecision, and conversational implicature. I approach these topics using a variety of tools, including formal linguistic analysis, psycholinguistic experimentation, and computational modeling.

I am also interested in legal interpretation. Much of my recent work applies analytical insights from linguistics and philosophy of language to help lawyers, judges, and the public navigate challenging problems of legal textual analysis.

Recent Publications

• Large Language Models for Legal Interpretation? Don't Take Their Word for It. Georgetown Law Journal. Volume 114, Number 1. 2025. (With Nathan Schneider, Ethan Wilcox, Amir Zeldes, and Kevin Tobia).
• Reading Law With Linguistics: The Statutory Interpretation of Artifact Nouns. Harvard Law Journal on Legislation. Volume 62, Number 2. 2025. (With Cleo Condoravdi, James Pustejovsky, Nathan Schneider, and Kevin Tobia).
  
• Probabilistic language understanding and formal linguistic theory: The case of epistemic modality. Stanford PhD Dissertation. 2024.
  
• Predicting consensus in legal document interpretation. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. Volume 45. 2023. (With Madigan Brodsky, Megan Ma, and Judith Degen).