Kelly Marie Ward

University of California, Irvine

Biography

Kelly Marie Ward is a doctoral candidate in Sociology Department at the University of California Irvine. Kelly has Master’s degrees in Public Administration and Education and has a background working in nonprofit, city government, and public policy organizations. As a Graduate Student Researcher at the Digital Media and Learning Hub, Kelly assists with projects in the Connected Learning Research Network.

Kelly’s research interests are in cultural sociology, reproductive healthcare, and organizational approaches to pregnancy termination. Her research projects include an ethnographic study of a stand-alone abortion clinic and a study exploring Registered Nurses’ perspectives on induction termination in a hospital setting. She aims to highlight how cultural and moral frames concerning gender, motherhood, and pregnancy intersect with organizational dynamics and service provision. Kelly also works her advisor, Dr. Francesca Polletta on research projects that examine use of narrative in advocacy efforts and that test the relationship between stereotype and narrative persuasion.