• D. in Medical Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley.
• M.A. in Demography and Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley.
• B.A. in Anthropology from Brown University.
• Associate Professor (retired) of Anthropology, and Director of the Health Inequity and Care Program, College of Arts and Sciences, American University, Washington, DC.
• Fulbright Scholar (Honduras);
• Researcher in processes of neoliberal violence, migration and health.

Her most recent academic works include the book Asilo a la venta: Profit and Protest in the Migration Industry and the article “Forging an Anthropology of Neoliberal Fascism”; as well as numerous articles published for wider dissemination.