Education
New York, NY
Doctoral Studies
Columbia University School of Social Work
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Social Work
Concentration: Advanced Practice
Socio-Behavioral Science (Major): Social Anthropology
Kelsey is currently a PhD candidate at Columbia University School of Social Work studying Advanced Practice under the mentorship of Dr. Elwin Wu, PhD. Kelsey’s research aims to subvert social work education and practice through queer irreverence and mess, examining care, social work, and institutional power through queer and trans, abolitionist, disability justice, and anti-colonial lenses. Kelsey’s work explores how community-based and institutional forms of care contribute to or disrupt collective queer and trans liberation, and how social work is taught and practiced in ways that position social workers as sites of social control within their own communities. As a recipient of Disability, Columbia Presidential, and GADE Teaching Awards, teaching is among Kelsey’s greatest passions. Her aforementioned practice experience and research inform her classroom pedagogy, which centers care, multidirectional learning (and healing), and wisdom birthed in the margins.
New York, NY
post-Graduate training
Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (Two-Year Post-Graduate Certificate)
Completed a two-year post-graduate training comprised of the following: Conducted weekly therapy with patients in the Adult Treatment and Psychotherapy Center for Gender and Sexuality programs. Received weekly individual and group psychodynamic clinical supervision, and enrolled in weekly clinical and theoretical coursework covering object relations, self-psychology, interpersonal & relational psychotherapy, and developmental psychology. Completed certification in Clinical Applications of the Polyvogal Theory for Trauma (2017).
New York, NY
graduate studies
Columbia University School of Social Work
Master of Science in Social Work (MSW)
Specialization: Advanced Integrative Practice & Programming
Field of Practice: Contemporary Social Issues
Having graduated from Columbia University School of Social Work as an Advanced Standing student, Kelsey holds her Masters in Social Work in Advanced Integrative Practice & Programming with a concentration in Contemporary Social Issues (exploring emerging social problems, their etiology, epidemiology, and interconnections; relevant policies, programs, and practices; and coordination or lack thereof among service systems that seek to address these problems).
MSW Graduate Thesis: “Social workers’ work with those ‘living in two closets’: clinical and policy implications in the reconciliation of LGBTQ+ identity and spirituality”
Capstone Briefing Book Honorable Mention: "Gender-Based Violence: Socioeconomic Violence Against the Trans Community"
Bronx, NY
Undergraduate Studies
Fordham University
Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (BSW) | Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (BA)
Concentration: Peace and Justice Studies
Minor: Graphic Design
During her time in undergraduate studies, Kelsey served as a Social Justice Leader through the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, and completed a year-long internship through the Society of Visual Arts. In her third year, Kelsey was an Ubuntu Service-Learning Study Abroad Student through the University of Pretoria/Universiteit van Pretoria, in Pretoria, Guateng, South Africa. There she served as a UNA-SA Student Member (United Nations Association - South Africa), received certification in the SAVF Botswadi Parental Guidance Programme (Suid-Afrikaanse Vrouefederasie - 2013), and completed coursework in Child & Adult Developmental Psychology and Poverty & Community Development.
Professional Experience
To see a full copy of Kelsey’s Curriculum Vitae, complete with professional experience, please access the following document: