Kayla Palakurthy

Kayla Palakurthy, Ph.D. is the current Academics Manager of Multilingual Learners at KIPP Public Schools Northern California, a position they have held since October 2021. Prior to this role, they worked as a Linguistics Researcher at the University of California, Davis from January 2020 to October 2021, where they conducted quantitative research on bilingual pronunciation and language change in Diné Bizaad (Navajo). During their time at UC Davis, they were awarded a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship and published results in peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, they trained and managed undergraduate research assistants in research methods and analysis.

Before their time at UC Davis, Palakurthy was a Visiting Assistant Professor at San Francisco State University from August 2019 to January 2020. Kayla also served as a Linguistics Instructor at Holy Names University from August 2017 to May 2019. Further back in their career, they worked as a Graduate Student Researcher at UC Santa Barbara from September 2013 to May 2019. In this role, they designed and managed a multi-year research project on bilingual Diné-English participants, which received National Science Foundation funding and resulted in published work.

Palakurthy began their career in education as an Algebra Teacher at KIPP Public Schools Northern California, where they implemented a California standards-aligned curriculum and contributed to strategic planning efforts. Kayla held this position from July 2011 to June 2013. Prior to that, they were a Middle School Teacher with Teach For America from July 2009 to June 2011. Overall, Palakurthy's work experience demonstrates their expertise in linguistics research, teaching, and academic management.

Kayla Palakurthy, Ph.D. obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics and Russian from Dartmouth College from 2005 to 2009. Kayla then pursued further studies at UC Santa Barbara, where they earned a Master of Arts degree in Linguistics from 2013 to 2015. Kayla continued their education at UC Santa Barbara and completed their Doctor of Philosophy degree in Linguistics from 2015 to 2019.