Cailean Shelley

Cailean Shelley (kay-Lin shell-ēē) is a PhD student in the Sociology Department at Columbia University. His research centers on socialization, culture, and stratification within spatial and educational inequities at the intersections of race/ethnicity and class. Cailean has taught a variety of social science courses at NYU, across both undergraduate and graduate levels, in sociology, education, leadership, business diversity, and gender equity. Additionally, he has held higher education administrative roles, including DEI management and research. They have also engaged in local activism, directing student-oriented queer liberation groups, participating in civil rights campaigns with the ACLU, conducting research on international human rights for United Nations reports, and canvassing in local, state, and national elections. Cailean earned both their bachelor's degrees in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology from the University of Georgia. His first master's degree was in Interdisciplinary Studies from NYU, focusing on race/ethnicity, critical theory, sociology, and education, and they have an Ed.M. in Sociology and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Cailean is a Brooklynite who enjoys thrifting, museums, and people-watching in their free time.