Photo: Assistant Clinical Professor in Community Geography and Outreach Undergraduate Internship Coordinator Contact info Email: kayla.anderson@uga.edu Office: Geography/Geology Building Room 112A Office Hours: By appointment Research Interests: Participatory Action Research; Community-Engaged Research; Youth Participatory Action Research; Environmental Justice; Community Organizing; Collective Action; Neighborhoods; Built Environment Google Scholar Profile CV: Anderson_Kayla_CV_25_9_17_0.pdf (329.48 KB) My research uses community-engaged, participatory, and action-oriented approaches to examine and support communities engaged in social change efforts. I am particularly interested in how collective action can be used to create more equitable and sustainable natural and built environments. Within this line of inquiry, I explore how collective action contributes to a sense of place and belonging and can lead to the development of social power and connectedness. I am also interested in how action research and community-engaged inquiry can be used within classroom settings to foster student learning, while simultaneously contributing to positive community outcomes. Education Education: Ph.D. (2025), Vanderbilt University, Community Research and Action M.Ed. (2020), Vanderbilt University, Community Development and Action B.A. (2013), Whitworth University, Sociology Research Selected Publications: Anderson, K. M., & Christens, B. D. (2025). Integrating action research into graduate education: Exploring the challenges and benefits of graduate-level action research courses. Educational Action Research, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2025.2499532 Anderson, K. M., Morgan, K. Y., McCormick, M. L., Fike, K. J., & Christens, B. D. (2025). Youth and their ideal neighborhoods: How do ideals compare to lived realities across different neighborhoods in Nashville, Tennessee? Youth, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/youth5010020 Anderson, K. M., Morgan, K. Y., McCormick, M. L., Gibson, M., Clark, M., Harper, A., & Christens, B. D. (2024). Youth participatory action research for equitable urban design. Journal of Participatory Research Methods, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.35844/001c.120406 Anderson, K. M., Morgan, K. Y., McCormick, M. L., Robbins, N. N., Curry-Johnson, S. E., & Christens, B. D. (2024). Participatory mapping of holistic youth well-being: A mixed methods study. Sustainability, 16, 1559. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041559 McDonald, Y. J., Anderson, K. M., Caballero, M. D., Ding, K. J., Fisher, D., Morkel, C., & Hill, E. (2022). A systematic review of geospatial representation of United States community water systems. AWWA Water Science, 4(1), e1266. https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1266
