Grace is a sociologist who studies development via entrepreneurship in different contexts. Much of her early work lies at the intersection of the economy and culture. Understanding the various social forces that shape economic development and economic life, whether in a global comparative context or in the context of impoverished urban and rural communities, is a common theme in her scholarship. The theoretical interests that motivate her work are often highlighted in the empirical contexts of entrepreneurs and/or organizations.

Grace is a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She completed her PhD in sociology at Princeton University on an accelerated track, graduating early with the university dean’s fellowship.

Grace began her research journey studying entrepreneurs in a global comparative context and is now studying entrepreneurship in America’s most economically distressed communities. Her earliest work examined the impact of cultural and religious ethics on entrepreneurs’ business management practices in China. Her dissertation examined the emerging ecosystem of tech startups and venture capital operating in transnational contexts, and how early-stage firms and entrepreneurial actors must navigate transnational as well as locale-specific challenges, such as regulatory constraints, under an autocratic government. Her latest, long-term project draws on the framework of racial capitalism to analyze the dynamics of local economic development and revitalization, via social entrepreneurship, in poor urban and rural communities. This project is motivated by the larger question of, how do we build wealth in our poorest communities?

Grace employs mixed methods in her research, using a combination of ethnography, interview, archival and survey data. She has conducted fieldwork across cities in the U.S. and internationally since 2012. Between 2017 and 2021, Grace has worked in a number of entrepreneurial and investment-related contexts in addition to freelance consulting on the side for early-stage startup founders across a range of industries. She was previously a cofounder for a sustainability startup.

Grace’s research has been supported by various sources, including the Kauffman Foundation. Her work has been recognized and awarded by the American Sociological Association.

Prior to her time at Princeton, Grace studied politics and economics at Wellesley College and taught in northwest Baltimore through the Teach For America program.