Professor, Miami University
Email: kuvalaka@miamioh.edu
Topics of Expertise: LGBTQ Partnering & Families
Katherine (Kate) A. Kuvalanka (she/her) earned her Ph.D. in family studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 2007 and is a Professor in the Department of Family Science and Social Work at Miami University in Ohio. Her research has focused on families with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) family members. She is interested in how factors in various contexts (e.g., family, school, legal climate) pose challenges to, and foster resilience among, families with LGBTQ members. She has taught various courses, including “Family Policy and Law” and “Diverse Family Systems across the Life Cycle,” and is on the Editorial Board of LGBTQ+ Family: An Interdisciplinary Journal. She has received funding from the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, the National Council on Family Relations, and the American Psychological Foundation. She is principal investigator of the Trans*Kids Project, a longitudinal study of 50 families with transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) children, which began more than a decade ago. Her research related to custody cases involving TGD children has been cited in regional and national news outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, Vox, and Harper’s Bazaar.
