Hi! First things first, it’s pronounced “Oh-Tee-Mon.” Please, just call me Jacob.

I am a political science PhD candidate at the Harry S Truman School of Government & Public Affairs at the University of Missouri. Before moving to Missouri, I recieved my BA in Political Science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (Geaux Cajuns!). Professionally, my research interests include American state politics, American political institutions, interest groups, and legislative expertise. This research focuses on the interactions between state political institutions and nongovernment actors or interest groups, specifically focusing on how the former deals with or uses the latter for expertise in political issue areas or upcoming bills and decisions.

You can download my Curriculum Vitae here.

As a bit of non-academic background, I was born and raised in the small town of Chauvin, located on the bayous of South Louisiana. I have several years of experience working in both state and local politics in Louisiana (through the Louisiana State Legislature and Lafayette Consolidated Government, respectively). If I am not researching state legislatures, you can usually find me waxing nostalgic about Louisiana cuisine (check out my family’s cooking, beautifully recreated in my cousin Melissa Martin’s restaurant, here), scrolling on Twitter to find new sneakers to buy, or speedrunning a video game… or probably a combination of all three.