I am a writer, an anthropologist of media and money, a teacher at heart, and  ocean lover. 

As a scholar of media and money, I am fascinated by how the technologies we use to communicate and transact shape culture. My work explores how mobile payments, cryptocurrencies, and digital financial inclusion initiatives transform cash economies particularly in Peru and Latin America, drawing upon diverse fields, especially economic anthropology, science and technology studies, critical development studies and media studies. How we pay—becoming increasingly digital, multifaceted, yet controlled by a few—offers a powerful lens to understand both how we live and how we are governed. I study the social aspects of money transformations to understand the futures of economic life, technological governance, and social relations that we are bringing about.

I hold a PhD in Anthropology with a focus on Science and Technology Studies from UC Davis (2024). My dissertation examined the development and implementation of a national mobile money initiative led by a partnership of banks, based on extensive fieldwork with engineers, policymakers, financial professionals, and end-users. I am currently working on transforming this research into a book manuscript, which reveals how financial infrastructures are built, how they shape economic life, and how local communities negotiate their inclusion in—or exclusion from—mainstream financial systems. By analyzing how financial technologies are designed, implemented, contested, and used in unexpected ways, my research sheds light on the social, political, and ethical dimensions of digital financialization.

Beyond my work on financial technologies, I have published extensively on economic inequality, youth digital cultures, extractivism and environmental conflicts, and media politics in Peru. I was previously a researcher at the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, where I also served as editor of the journal Argumentos. I am the co-author of Brand-name Sneakers Only: Lima Youth and the Limits of Market Inclusion (with Francesca Uccelli, published by IEP, 2016), which examines the social mobility aspirations and economic constraints of low-income youth navigating consumer culture in Lima.

I’m committed to research as a form of service, especially when it drives social impact and leads to transformational, tangible benefits for people by bridging academic inquiry with broader social and policy debates. I am also a passionate teacher who loves to learn and co-think with students.