William Kelly

William Kelly has a diverse work experience spanning various roles and industries. William is currently serving as the Director of Operations and Special Projects at The Architectural League of New York, where they ensure smooth office functioning and conceptualizes long-term research projects. Prior to this, they worked as a Lecturer in Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, where they designed and taught undergraduate courses and conducted research on urban housing policy in Cuba. William also served as an ACLS Emerging Voices Postdoctoral Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis, conducting research and preparing reports on urban segregation and structural racism.

Additionally, William Kelly has prior experience as a PhD researcher, where they completed an independent research project and taught courses on Latin American and Caribbean history and culture at Rutgers University. William also founded and served as the Executive Director of the Chicago Cuba Project, a non-profit oral history project focused on the Chicago-area Cuban community. Before that, they worked as a Bilingual Field Interviewer at NORC at the University of Chicago, conducting interviews for qualitative research studies. William also has experience as a Spanish teacher in both public charter schools, where they facilitated student learning, cultural immersion, and acted as a liaison for Spanish-speaking parents.

Early in their career, William Kelly served as an AmeriCorps America Reads Reading Tutor, providing one-on-one reading instruction to elementary school students. Throughout their various roles, William has demonstrated a strong commitment to research, education, community engagement, and promoting cultural understanding.

William Kelly earned a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology from the University of South Florida, where they studied from 2000 to 2005. Following this, they pursued a Master of Arts degree in Social Sciences with a focus on History and Anthropology at the University of Chicago, from 2010 to 2011. William then continued their education at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, where they obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Latin American and Urban History, completing their studies from 2013 to 2021.