I grew up in Brighton on the southern coast of England, and have since lived in Oxford, London, Washington DC, Boston, and now New York City. 

Before joining Columbia, I received a PhD in Government at Harvard, an MSc in Politics Research (Comparative Politics) at Nuffield College, University of Oxford in 2010, and a BA at St Anne's College, University of Oxford in Politics, Philosophy and Economics in 2008. I previously worked as an economic researcher at the House of Commons Library, the British equivalent of the U.S. Congressional Research Service.

In my spare time I play and watch football and try to explore the world a bit. I am still hoping Watford FC will return to (relative) greatness (update: this partially came true after promotion to the Premier League in May 2015, and three subsequent survivals; unfortunately, this and then this also happened...; but they then got promoted again in 2021, so we are good for now). 

My partner Rakeen Mabud is Chief Economist and Managing Director of Policy and Research at the Groundwork Collaborative. You should check out her important work!