For over two decades, Kelly Whitaker has led equity-centered research and evaluation efforts at the intersection of education, mental health and public systems. She has extensive experience building collaborative partnerships with public institutions, school districts and community-based organizations to co-create and evaluate programs that are grounded in community knowledge and aligned with systems change.

As assistant director of the Engaged College Initiative and for faculty development in the Einhorn Center, Kelly supports the advancement of community-engaged scholarship and capacity-building across disciplines. She holds a master’s degree in public and nonprofit management and policy from New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service (2006), a Ph.D. in social welfare from University California-Berkeley (2015) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington’s School Mental Health Assessment, Research and Training (SMART) Center (2018). A commitment to equity, participatory practice and measurable public impact drives her work.

Quotes that inspire Kelly

“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” –Angela Davis

“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.” –Clarissa Pinkola Estes

“Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.” –bell hooks