Stephen has a passion for understanding the economic causes and consequences of governments behaving badly. As a political scientist, he teaches courses on human rights, political economy, and politico-economic development. He has worked on several measurement projects related to human rights and well-being, including his dissertation, which focused on developing multiple metrics measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Stephen’s recent research is focused on the intersection of human security and economics. He earned his PhD in 2019 from the University of Georgia, and is currently teaching courses at the University of Missouri- St Louis.