2026 Sociology Newsletter

Department of Sociology with the CCAS seal and two students in a sociology classroom listening to a lecture

Message from the Chair
Department Spotlights
Current and Recent Student Highlights
Faculty Kudos
Alumni Class Notes

Message from the Chair

If there is a more pressing time to study society, I cannot imagine it. I am buoyed thinking about all of you who have come through our programs in sociology, criminal justice, human services & social justice, criminology and law & society. You are out in the world, using what you have learned here at GW to study, address, challenge and repair the deep ruptures that currently haunt us. What you are able to do is not insignificant. You are among those best prepared to face this moment.

Here in the department, our faculty continue the work of educating and inspiring students, offering our core set of courses in addition to new ones that confront the present reality. Daina Eglitis is teaching a new course on the Sociology of Banned Books, for example, which engages with questions about why some books are deemed threatening, and why some words seem dangerous. At a time when the federal government has attempted to eliminate funding for grants that use particular words—such as women and race—this focus could not be more timely.

Two more members of our community we are particularly proud to spotlight are alumnus Raina Hackett, BA ’21, MA ’24, who has become a legislative director in Congress, and our newest faculty member, Matthew Kafafian. Kafafian's work on social networks among exploited youth was recently featured on a podcast for the National Children’s Alliance. In this newsletter, you will also read about students who are winning awards, faculty who are serving as expert witnesses and alumni who are presenting their work at professional conferences. In all of this, our band is using the tools of our trade in both remarkable and everyday ways.

Draw strength, then, alumni of the Department of Sociology! If you are finding unlikely allies, engaging in social movements, building unity or enacting resilience in the face of repression, you are doing the work we have hoped to prepare you to do.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ivy Ken
Chair, Department of Sociology

Department Spotlights

photo of Matthew Kafafian — Matthew Kafafian

Welcome Dr. Matthew Kafafian!

The Department of Sociology is pleased to welcome Dr. Matthew Kafafian to the faculty!

Kafafian earned his PhD in criminology and justice policy from Northeastern University in 2023, and was previously an assistant professor and co-director of the Victimology and Victim Studies Research Lab at University of Nebraska at Omaha in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

In his first year at GW, Kafafian has stepped into the role of director of graduate studies for our master’s degree programs in criminology and sociology. He teaches the graduate seminar on criminology along with undergraduate courses on human trafficking, criminology and statistics.

Kafafian has published his research in numerous peer-reviewed journals including JAMA Network Open, Journal of Quantitative Criminology and Child Maltreatment. He was recently featured on the podcast One in Ten, hosted by the CEO of the National Children’s Alliance. The National Children’s Alliance provides accreditation for over 900 Child Advocacy Centers across the United States, and their newsletter reaches more than 14,000 practitioners. Kafafian was invited to be interviewed for their podcast because the newsletter highlighting his research was one of the most popular issues of the year.

In his most recent research he and his colleague are developing a survey to understand the extent and causes of crime and victimization in the context of unsafe and dangerous work in the U.S.

Welcome to the department!

Law & Society Minor

Dr. Carlos Bustamante and Dr. Mohamed Mohamed co-direct the law & society minor in the Department of Sociology. This thoughtfully designed interdisciplinary minor was created in 2013 to prepare students to understand the legal reasoning, conduct legal research, pursue internships in law and communicate the place of law in society.

It is a selective minor, requiring a strong GPA and required courses in Equality and the Law, Sociology of Law and electives in philosophy, economics and public health. Alumni have gone on to law school and careers at major law firms as well as nonprofit organizations and government agencies.

“I LOVE THAT MINOR. I absolutely loved the classes I got to take as part of it.”
— 2025 graduate

The Department of Sociology is grateful to alumni donors who have enabled Drs. Bustamante and Mohamed to organize programming for law & society students. With additional donations, the co-directors look forward to creating more opportunities for alumni to network with current students, sponsor internships and celebrate the upcoming 15th year of this prestigious program.

To donate to the law & society minor, please visit the Sociology Department giving page.

Alumni Spotlight: Raina Hackett, BA ’21, MA ’24

I look back on my time in the GW Sociology Department as the springboard to my career. Sociology is not just a discipline that studies human behavior and social interactions; it is a tool that allows us to understand power and hold institutions accountable. That mindset continues to shape how I approach my work every day.

I still remember being accepted into the combined BA-MA program and thinking, “What did I just get myself into?” My parents do not have postgraduate degrees, and pursuing a master’s was never part of my original plan. Now, I serve as a legislative director in Congress while completing a part-time law degree—the very embodiment of work that is fundamentally about navigating systems of power and ensuring they function more equitably.

Under the guidance of my thesis director and long-time mentor, Dr. Ivy Ken, I completed a nearly 100-page thesis examining the intersectionality of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). I was awarded a research grant from the University of Kansas to study archival materials, applying mixed-methods research to better understand how policy design shapes real-world outcomes.

Dr. Ken was also instrumental in piquing my interest in food systems—an area I had always cared about but had not yet fully explored. Through her mentorship, challenging coursework and emphasis on critical thinking, that interest became a central focus of my academic and professional path. I later presented this research at the Eastern Sociological Society Annual Conference and the University of Maryland Parren J. Mitchell Symposium, wrote about the experience for The Sociologist and was even spotlighted by the congresswoman I was working for at the time.

That experience fundamentally shaped how I think about policy. Today, whether I am drafting federal legislation, working on appropriations or briefing a member of Congress on complex issues, I rely on the same analytical tools I developed through sociology: connecting systems, understanding incentives and translating research into action. It also sparked my long-term interest in how food systems, public health and economic policy intersect, which are questions that continue to shape my professional focus.

To say I am indebted to the GW Sociology Department is an understatement. My professors and mentors supported me through both academic challenges and growth, shaping how I think, write and lead. Anyone who has the opportunity to take even one class in the department is incredibly fortunate.

From Sewer to Scholar: Ruby Leonard Researches Sustainable Fashion Practices as Art and Activism

Junior Ruby Leonard took up sewing during the COVID-19 lockdown to manage her stress and boost creativity. As a human services and social justice major, she also wanted to keep making a difference and decided to pair her hobby with activism for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Read Ruby's Story

Current and Recent Student Highlights

Three current MA students and three of our alumni presented their scholarship at the Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting in March 2026 in Washington, D.C.:

Sociology MA student Samantha DeCapua, “Navigating Military Life: The Impact of Singlehood on Workplace Experiences and Well-being.”
Sociology MA student Matt Hernandez, “Nodes of Transnationalism: The Spatial Dynamics and Heterotopic Nature of Remittance Service Providers in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area.”
Sociology MA alumnus Skylar Li, “Remembering Biko in the Age of Fallism: Media Memory and Symbolic Resonance in Post-Apartheid South Africa.”
Criminology MA alumnus Amanda Pierson, “Deserving or Deviant? Understanding Support for Homelessness Policy.”
Criminology MA student Riley von Borstel, “Evaluating the Mental and Physical Implications of Solitary Confinement on Formerly Incarcerated Individuals.”
Sociology BA alumnus Dr. Claire Whitlinger, “Black Placemaking and Community Responses to Reparations of the Civil War.”

DeCapua, Hernandez and von Borstel also presented their scholarship at the 2026 North Central Sociological Association Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, Penn., in April, along with sociology MA student Qinhua Du who presented on “Intersecting Inequalities: How Gender, Race, And Class Shape Academic Performance In Higher Education.”

DeCapua’s paper “Housed but Uninhabitable: Housing Instability and Its Impacts on Active-Duty Military,” was also selected for the DCSS MA Graduate Student Paper Award for 2026.

Hernandez had a paper accepted for the 2026 Virginia Commonwealth University’s Government, Public, and International Affairs Student Research Conference in Richmond in April, titled “The Digital Displacement of Revolutionary Politics in Guatemala.” Matt also presented a paper at the Washington Consortium for Comparative and International Education in February, titled “Remittance Shocks and Educational Risk: Designing Support Structures to Prevent Economically Motivated Dropout in Latin America.”

Von Borstel has also been admitted to the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana and will be starting her Juris Doctorate this fall. During her studies at GW, Riley interned with the U.S. Department of Justice and worked as a fellow for Teach for America where she helped tutor students in Grades 2 and 3 with reading. At the American Society of Criminology conference in Washington, D.C, in November, she presented her paper “Crisis in the Last Frontier: The Impact Of The American Criminal Justice System On Alaska Natives.”

A group of CCAS undergraduate students had a poster accepted at the Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting: “Gender Data Collective: An Interdisciplinary, Collaborative Study on Regional-Based Sex Education and Gender Attitudes in the U.S.” Congratulations to:

Lucy Eckel (Political Communication; Human Services & Social Justice)
Nora Perez-Rubio (CCAS)
Seren Julian (Sociology; Political Science)
Ella Kushins (Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Political Science; Human Services & Social Justice and Music minor)
Natalie Lauchlan (Public Health)
Liliana Triviski (Criminal Justice; Political Science)

Four students had posters accepted for presentation at the CCAS Research Showcase in April:

Juliette Leyton (MA, Criminology)
Juan Ramos (MA, Sociology)
Zienab Rouissiya (BA, Criminal Justice major, Law & Society minor)
Riley von Borstel (MA, Criminology)

We are thrilled to congratulate the 2026 award recipients in the Department of Sociology:

Outstanding Seniors in Sociology Award: Max Calman and Damian Galvan
William J. Chambliss Outstanding Seniors in Criminal Justice Award: Chloe Rose and Nicole Solich
Honey W. Nashman Outstanding Senior in Human Services Award: Amelia Wallach
Hilda Haves Manchester Prize: Angel Liang and Lucy (Hyeonju) Park
Ruth Wallace Memorial Award for Achievement in Gender: Matt Hernandez
Undergraduate Excellence in Research and Writing Award: Zayla Ihsan and Eunjoo Park
Graduate Excellence in Research and Writing Award: Riley von Borstel
Best Graduate Instructional Assistant Award: Samantha DeCapua

Sociology MA/BA student Mykala Bledsoe was awarded the 2026 National Graduate Student Leadership Award from Campus Compact during their 2026 conference in Chicago. Bledsoe was the only graduate student selected an also had the privilege of presenting for the second year at Campus Compact on the workshop they have been leading with the Nashman Center and the nonprofit Little Friends for Peace called “Sowing Seeds of Peace: Community Care as Harm Reduction.” Bledsoe presented in Atlanta last year as well as at the Baltimore IMPACT conference and received a $500 dollar grant to continue these workshops through the spring and summer of 2026. Bledsoe also served as a fact checker and editor for the newest edition of the We the People high school textbook. Bledsoe specifically covered Unit 4 on the Reconstruction period and Indigenous sovereignty.

Criminal justice senior and criminology master’s student Justin Liu was profiled in GW Today.

Sociology MA student Marissa Mowers received the 2025 Phillip J. Amsterdam Graduate Teaching Award.

Sociology alumnus Katherine Stockton-Juarez, MA ’26, presented work from her master’s thesis, “Two-Spirit Decolonial Changemaking on Instagram,” at the Southern Connecticut State University Women’s & Gender Studies Department’s 25th Annual WGSS Conference, (Re)Making the World: A “How-To” Conference on Feminist, Crip, and Decolonial Worldmaking. She also completed a workshop at the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University on “Working and Communicating with Congress.”

Faculty Kudos

Sociology Department Operations Supervisor Octavia Kelsey was honored for 30 years of service at GW!
Professor Carlos Bustamante is the recipient of the 2026 Dr. Cynthia Deitch Faculty Trailblazer Award, which a CCAS DEI Award named for our emeritus colleague Professor Cynthia Deitch.
Professor Daina Eglitis was selected as a Charles E. Scheidt Faculty Fellow in Atrocity Prevention at Binghamton University’s Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP) for the academic year 2025-26. This fellowship includes learning modules for fellows, a year-end conference and the development of teaching materials that emphasize atrocity prevention.
One of the department’s newest faculty members, Professor Desmond Goss, was honored at the 2025 CCAS Graduation Celebration with the Award for Excellence in Graduate Faculty Mentoring.
Goss was also one of the convenors of the GW University Seminar on Intersectional Masculinities, including a session titled “What to the Gender-Nonconformist is Masculinity?” The seminar series addressed questions about the experiences of those living at the intersection of modern masculinity, and the possibilities for developing identities that challenge hegemonic masculinity. Goss was also invited to speak on the topic of “Doing Public Sociology” for the American Sociological Association’s Sex and Gender Section Mentoring Session, and to serve as a discussant for a 2025 ASA conference session on “DEI in Teaching and Learning.”
Karen L. Mosley, MSW, adjunct professor for human services and social justice, was featured in NonProfit PRO’s March 18, 2026 article, “7 Nonprofit Trends Shaping the Sector in 2026,” as a contributor offering analysis on leadership sustainability, governance, and organizational health in the nonprofit sector. Mosley is the founder and principal consultant of Abundantly Resourced Organizations.
Two faculty members presented papers at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting in November 2026 in Washington, D.C.:
- Professor Carlos Bustamante, co-director of the law & society minor, presented at the roundtable “Teaching About Structural Oppression Under a Politically Hostile Administration.”
- Professor Matthew Kafafian, director of graduate studies, presented “A Systematic Review of Multidisciplinary Teams Addressing Child Sexual Exploitation.”
Two of our faculty members presented papers at the Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting in March 2026 in Washington, D.C.:
- Professor Daina Eglitis, director of undergraduate studies, presented “Students Building Sociological Theories of A Future Economy.”
- Sociology alumnus and current director of the George Washington Institute for Public Policy’s Gender Policy Research Program Lauryn King, BA ’15, MPP ’18, presented “Reproducing Disinformation: AI Chatbots, Contraceptive Counselling, and Sentiment on Reproduction.” Dr. King teaches a graduate seminar on Race, Gender, and Class in our Department.
Professor Emeritus Gregory D. Squires received the 2025 American Sociological Association’s Public Understanding of Sociology award.
Squires also published a number of reports and op-eds:
- The 2025 Reinvestment Fund report, “Examining Evidence of Racial Equality In Home Appraising and Valuation In the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area.”
- An op-ed in the Baltimore Sun, “The myth that wealth taxes send millionaires fleeing.”
Squires also presented “Op Eds as Tools for Advocacy” to the American Sociological Association’s Policy Outreach Program Fellows; organized the forum “The New Redlining: Disaster Relief, Climate Change, and Ensuring Fair Access to Home Insurance” at the University of Illinois, Chicago Law School Fair Housing Legal Support Center conference “Advancing the Fair Housing Agenda”; and continues to serve as a community development columnist for the quarterly magazine Social Policy. He is on the boards of the Fair Housing Task Force of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Social Science Advisory Board of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and the Advisory Committee to the Philadelphia Home Appraisal Equity Program of the Department of Planning & Development, Division of Housing & Community Development.
Professor Emeritus Ron Weitzer served as an expert witness in 2026 in a major legal challenge to South Africa’s prostitution law. Prior to that, he was an expert witness in two constitutional challenges to Canada’s prostitution laws (2013 and 2023). He recently published two articles closely related to these cases: “Flawed Research on the Impact of Law Reform: The Case of Legal Prostitution and Sex Trafficking,” Criminology, v. 59 (May 2025) and “Legal Prostitution: Identifying Key Outcomes,” Sex & Sexualities, v. 2 (May 2026).

Alumni Class Notes

Doris Watkins Cullen, BA ’89, MA ’91, has worked with the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program for over 30 years. Doris’ son, Seamus, graduated from GW in 2021.
Kimberly Krane, BA ’20, is a JD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a Toll Public Interest Fellow focused on civil rights advocacy and systemic criminal justice work. This summer she will support civil rights litigation at the ACLU of Pennsylvania and has previously worked with the Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project.
Drew Woodward, BA ’07, after spending nearly 15 years in the nonprofit and public sector, recently accepted a position with a Finnish tech company that helps municipalities around the world achieve their climate, sustainability and resiliency goals. He and his wife welcomed their third child to the world on December 7, 2025.