Lindsey Gearin

Hometown: Star Prairie, WI

Previous Education: BA in Peace and Global Studies and Spanish and Hispanic Studies, Earlham College; Master of Philosophy in Sociology of Marginality and Exclusion, University of Cambridge

Research Interests:

My research examines how people conceptualize the role of nonprofit human service organizations in addressing structural social inequality, particularly related to race and poverty. In particular, I am interested in how employees of nonprofits that provide direct services to people in poverty understand the strengths and limitations of the strategies employed in their work, especially those aimed at achieving systems change. Relatedly, I am also interested in how employees’ assessments of the strategies employed in their work shape their buy-in and day-to-day experience at work. I primarily use qualitative methods in my work.

Before starting my PhD, I spent several years working as a program evaluator in the nonprofit sector, where I conducted applied data analysis to assess program quality and support program improvement. In my free time, I enjoy biking, running, cooking and reading for fun.

Publications:

Gearin, L. (2022). “(Un)Settling Unpayable Debt: Theorizing and Disrupting the Production of White ‘Benevolence’ During Giving to Reparations Funds.” Journal of Critical Race Inquiry 9(1), 51-67.

Honors and Awards

University Fellowship, The Ohio State University, 2026