Her dissertation project studies the defective concrete disasterin County Donegal, Ireland, along the Irish-Northern Irish border. She identifies the concrete crisis as a site to address questions of democratic backsliding and populism’s broader relationship with Irish democracy. She looks at the ways the Irish home itself, or rather the crumbling Irish home, has become an organizing unit for emerging social movements.By thoroughly investigating past, current, and future policies around compensation for homeowners, the project also studies the political, social, and environmental side effects of the lengthy and unsettled governmental redress scheme. Her research for this project has been supported by the SSRC’s International Dissertation Research Fellowship and UCI’s Kugelman Citizenship Peacebuilding Fellowship. She is currently a dissertation fellow at the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.

Kaitlyn is a member of the Teaching Team for UCI Anthropology 25A, Environmental Injustice, a large, general education course that extends from EcoGovLab research; the Spatial Studies Working Group, and a former UCI Pedagogical Fellow.

Kaitlyn has an MA in Social Anthropology from SOAS, University of London and a BA in political science with a minor in Gender Studies from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame.