Dr. Kellie S. Wilkerson recently received her Ph.D. in Sociology from George Mason University. She is currently a Research Associate at the Institute for Immigration Research (IIR) and has had opportunity to work on projects with the Center for Social Science Research (CSSR) and Next System Studies (NSS). Her research interests include applied sociology and evaluation research, globalization, international higher education, and quantitative methodology.

Kellie earned her MA in Public Sociology at Cal Poly Humboldt with emphases in both practicing and teaching sociology in 2020. There she explored the role study abroad participation played in the creation of ‘global citizenship’ utilizing quantitative, qualitative and geospatial analyses. With a focus in teaching sociology, Kellie has had the opportunity learn important pedagogical practices and has served as a teaching assistant in Introduction to Social Research, Sociology Statistics Lab, Elementary Statistics and Introduction to Sociology. As a practicing sociology student, Kellie has had wonderful opportunities to enhance her applied research skills working with the City of Arcata, California Center for Rural Policy, and as a research assistant for a tenure-track faculty.

She received her BA in Applied Sociology with a minor in History from the University of Tampa in 2018, where she developed an interest in studying globalization through educational exchanges. While in Tampa, she was a member of the Florida Zeta Chapter of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women and served as the merchandise chair until being elected as Senior Member Coordinator. During her time at UT, Kellie was able to find her passion in sociology and enhanced her sociological imagination by conducting an independent research study in Bangkok, Thailand. The study was inspired by her previous study abroad experience where she served as an international intern in an Irish, patient-led charity in Dublin, Ireland.

While pursuing her doctorate, Kellie had the pleasure of working with several research institutes. During her time with Next System Studies, Kellie was the Project Manager for Democratizing NOVA. In supervising the research team of undergraduate and graduate student researchers, Kellie developed the Democratizing NOVA database, and the project received an award for Outstanding Community Partnership. Kellie hosted the first Democratizing NOVA Summit for practitioners, scholars, and students; and organized the 2023 Next System Studies Workshop which included regional, national and international scholars. In 2022, Kellie was recognized as the Devlin Family Scholarship recipient, an award given to a sociology student invested in leadership in the community by advocating for social justice. Currently, Kellie serves as an Ex-Officio member of the DNOVA Advisory Council.

At the Center for Social Science Research, Kellie was able to work with Fairfax County’s Neighborhood and Community Services on a project designed to identify protective factors that promoted older adult well-being through a systematic scoping review and focus groups. The model developed by the research team was presented in two parts to county stakeholders and also continues to be shared at academic conferences. Her current work at the Institute for Immigration Research involves geospatial and quantitative research as Project Manager for the Immigration Data on Demand (iDod) project and researcher for the annual Nobel Prize Report of 2023, which highlights immigrant contributions and international collaboration of Nobel Prize Recipients.

Previously, Kellie served as President for the Public Sociology Association where she oversaw the planning and implementation of the 2021 Public Sociology Conference, revamped graduate student advocacy positions within the department, hosted and organized workshops and related opportunities for professional development, and overall supported graduate students needs during the 2021-2022 academic year. She remained invested in supporting the graduate student experience and served as the Sociology PhD Representative to the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GAPSA) at Mason.

Kellie worked on developing a peer-mentorship program with her colleagues dedicated to easing the first-year transition for incoming graduate students. She is also engaged with a large network of sociologists interested in applied and public research, and completed a two-year term as Graduate Student Representative for the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology and enjoys remaining active in the local research community by acting as a Lead Research Assistant and mentor for the Social Science Research Lab.