I am a PhD Candidate and a community-engaged scholar at Rutgers University-Camden focusing on labor, immigration, and organizing.

Hi! My name is Dylan. I'm based in Philadelphia and am a PhD Candidate at Rutgers University-Camden in the Department of Public Affairs/Community Development. I am a community-engaged scholar focusing on labor, immigration, and organizing.

For my dissertation, I am looking at labor in the tech sector for immigration populations, the different types of work experiences in the sector, and how workers respond to negative treatment at work. I hope to use my findings to create journal articles that tell the stories of workers and their visions for solutions. My dissertation advisor is Dr. Patrice Mareschal.  

I am the Cities and Justice Initiative lead at the Center for Urban Research and Education (CURE) at Rutgers University - Camden where I work under Dr. Stephen Danley. ​ Through my work at CURE, I partnered with Dr. Tanisha Cannon of the Legal Services for Prisoners with Children on advocacy work around abolishing slavery in U.S. prisons.  You can find our May 2024 report to the United Nations here where we discuss the treatment of prisoners under slavery and make policy recommendations. We also published an article in Metropolitics about prison labor and the movement to end slavery in California's prisons in July 2024.

I am a CURE Community First Fellow and I am placed with the No Arena Chinatown movement in Philadelphia. As a fellow, I support the movement's work to raise public awareness about the impacts of the potential arena on the local community.  

In 2018-2019, I was Fulbright and Boren fellow to Taiwan where I worked with the Yilan Migrant Fishermen's Union in their fight for fair treatment at work. I received the 2020 Youth Human Rights Award from the United Nations for a report on the living and working conditions of the fishermen's union and presented my work at a UN Generally Assembly side event. 

Outside of academic work, I enjoy spending time outside. I'm one of the founding members and co-leaders of the Feminist Bird Club of Philadelphia. We host local birdwatching events and share our mission of promoting social and environmental justice in Philly. Learn more about us here.