Kat Nielsen Ph.D. Student Boston College
Education
MSW, University of Washington
BA, Pacific Lutheran University, Phi Alpha Honor Society
Associates of Arts and Sciences and Certificate in Social Services/Mental Health, Pierce College, Phi Theta Kappa
Honor Society
Career Goals
Kat’s career goals are to fill the gap in adoption research by focusing on the experiences of relinquishing parents, thwarted fathers, and other often overlooked members of the adoption constellation. She would also like to enhance adoption practice by educating the next generation of social workers to be ethical adoption competent practitioners.
Research Interests
Adoption; Non-traditional families; Parenting; Adolescence; Youth at risk
Publishable Paper Title
Working Title: Fatherhood: The Laws that Bind
Awards and Fellowships
Four-year Social Work Doctoral Fellowship at Boston College; Elaine B. Pinderhughes Fellowship (2013)
Research Experience
Research Assistantship (2014): Interviewing and transcribing as part of the MTARP project.
Selected Presentations
Nielsen, K.M. (2015). Fatherhood: The Laws That Bind [Poster Presentation]. New Worlds of Adoption
Conference 2015: Launching Into Adulthood. Rudd Adoption Research Program, Amherst, MA.
McGuigan, C., Hart, R., and Nielsen, K.M. (2015). PTSD: The Flashbacks You Never Wanted to Have.
2015 American Adoption Congress Conference. Cambridge, MA.
Nielsen, K.M. (2015). Fatherhood: The Laws that Bind. 2015 American Adoption Congress Conference.
Cambridge, MA.
Nielsen, K.M. (2014). How Privilege, Politics, and Class Contribute to Coercion in Pregnancy
Counseling. 2014 Biennial Adoption Initiative Conference: Sleeping Giants in Adoption: Power, Privilege, Politics, and Class. Queens, NY.
Nielsen, K.M. (2014). Mitigating the Pitfalls of Power, Privilege, and Class in Open Adoption
Communication Agreements. 2014 Biennial Adoption Initiative Conference: Sleeping Giants in Adoption: Power,
Privilege, Politics, and Class. Queens, NY.
Sisson, G., Transue-Woolston, A.H.L., Nielsen, K.M., Howard-Karp, M., Harris O’Connor, S. (2013). The
Other A-word: Adoption and Reproductive Justice [Panel Presentation]. 2013 Civil Liberties and Public Policy:
From Abortion Rights to Social Justice Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom, Civil Liberties and
Public Policy Program, Hampshire, MA.
McRoy, R.G., Bigelow, E., Nielsen, K.M., Drake, E., Drake, M., Shepard, P. (2013). Evolving Relationships and
Contact in Adoptions [Panel Presentation]. New Worlds of Adoption Conference 2013: Contact Between Adoptive and Birth Families What Works? Rudd Adoption Research Program, Amherst, MA.