Program Chair, Associate Professor of Sociology

Born and raised in Madison, Wisc., Kathleen earned her bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her master's and Ph.D. degrees in social policy from Brandeis University.

Kathleen is married with two children, Lily and Curran. She is active in a number of community groups involved in peace and justice issues and serves as secretary of the New England Peace Studies Association. Before pursuing a career in academics, she worked as a union organizer overseeing campaigns for union representation among women's services and clerical workers.

Kathleen's research reflects lifelong involvement in social movements oriented toward an egalitarian and democratic transformation of social institutions. She is currently completing The Underground Church, a book documenting a range of organizations by and for Catholics operating outside Vatican control. Her research has been featured in a number of publications in the United States and Europe, including The Miami Herald, The National Catholic Reporter, and The Los Angeles Times.

Kathleen's published articles focus on the documentation and analysis of organizing strategies in a range of social movements. "Growing Power, Growing Force: Older Women Organize," her most noteworthy article, has been reprinted in several textbooks. Most recently, she has become interested in spirituality and its relevance to social movements, and has authored several papers examining newly-emerging women's spirituality groups.