Melinda Lemke (she/her)

I study the politics of education and how social policies address structural violence to center the health, well-being, and human rights of women and adolescent girls. Reliant upon interdisciplinarity and critical qualitative methodologies, this includes investigating policy actor knowledge and decision-making processes. In an era of increased neoliberal and settler colonial reform, this also involves examining how culture, ideology, and rhetoric factor into said processes.

In my research I examine the causes, effects, and public system responses to gender-based violence and the largescale internal and cross-border displacement of women, families, and youth. Current projects include critique of and response to gender-raced capitalist schooling policies and programming that delimit, dislocate, and engender structural trauma and disposability. Ongoing research questions concern policy development and (un)intended outcomes, for whom do policies work, and to what ends for collective futurity. Some of this research is part of the Gender Policy Lab (GPL), which I direct, and can be found in refereed outlets such as Children's Geographies, Educational Policy, Gender and Education, Journal of Education Policy, Social Sciences, and The Urban Review.

My research, teaching, and service are informed by a first career in U.S. public secondary education and work in sexual assault prevention and advocacy. This previous experience inspires the centering of context and respect for transparent, reciprocal, and co-constructed knowledge - toward the end of improving student and community social, economic, and health equity. Select practitioner career achievements include a J. William Fulbright Fellowship to South Korea, James Madison Memorial Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities Outstanding Teaching Award, and National Board Certification (secondary Social Studies).

University at Buffalo, SUNY Affiliations:
• Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention
• Community of Global Health Equity
• Department, Global Gender and Sexuality Studies
• Faculty Senate (FS) and Faculty Senate Executive Committee
• FS Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility
• FS Committee on Tenure, Promotion, and Privileges
• Gender Institute
• Policy Review Group

Professional Affiliations:
• American Educational Research Association
• Buffalo Commons (Partnership for the Public Good and Cornell University)
• National Women's Studies Association

Please visit my ORCID and LinkedIn profiles to learn more about my work.

• Postdoctoral Research Associate, Swansea University, Wales, United Kingdom, Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, Observatory on Human Rights of Children and Young People
• PhD, The University of Texas at Austin, Educational Policy and Planning; Gender Studies concentration
• MEd, The University of Texas at Austin, Curriculum and Instruction; Government concentration
• BSED; BA; minor, Bucknell University, Secondary Education; History; Law

• Gender Institute Mentorship Award; University at Buffalo, SUNY; 2026-05-07;
• Dr. Conrad F. Toepfer, Jr. Mentorship Award; University at Buffalo, SUNY; 2025-05-09;
• Paula Silver Case Award for the following article: Lemke, M., Bascug, E., & Howard, A. (2022). Seen yet unseen: A case of human trafficking at Harris High School. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 25(2), 153-168.; University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA); 2023-10-15;
• Honors College, Graduate School of Education Faculty Fellow; University at Buffalo; 2021-08-30;
• Refugee Health and Well-being Faculty Fellow; Community of Excellence in Global Health Equity, University at Buffalo, SUNY; 2017-01-01;

• Lemke, M., Miles Nash, A., Mackey, H., & Young, M. D. (Eds.) (2025). Beyond now: Feminist politics, policy, and research futures in education. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), 38. https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tqse20/38/8
• Shubin, S. & Lemke, M. (Eds.) (2020). Children displaced across borders: Charting new directions for research from interdisciplinary perspectives. Children’s Geographies, 18(5), 505-515. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2020.1781061

• Judelsohn, A., Lemke, M., Hna, N., Raja, S., Scates, J., & Agbemenu, K. (2024). Co-constructing knowledge and space with refugee communities: Lessons from the Western New York Refugee Health Summit. Social Sciences, 13(8), 390. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13080390
• Lemke, M. & Rogers, K. (2023). A feminist critical heuristic for educational policy analysis: U.S. social emotional learning policy. Journal of Education Policy, 38(5), 803-828. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2022.2130995

• Lemke, M. (2024). Critical and feminist cartographies of observation: Procedural, personal, and political considerations in the documentation and analysis of life worlds. In M. D. Young & S. Diem (Eds.), Handbook of critical education research: Qualitative, quantitative, and emerging approaches (pp. 590-611). Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003141464-35

• Policy Lab Award, Community of Excellence in Global Health Equity; Colleges / Universities; University at Buffalo, SUNY; Awarded; (02/09/2024-05/25/2027)
• Faculty Equity Grant; Local Government; Community of Excellence in Global Health Equity, University of Buffalo, SUNY; Awarded; (03/27/2023-07/31/2023)
• District Residency, Retention, and Community Well-being: A Policy Analysis at the Intersection of Class, Gender, and Race; Local Government; Gender Institute, University at Buffalo, SUNY; Awarded; (12/23/2022-12/31/2023)
• Co-constructing Public Knowledge: Centering Sexual Violence in Educational Research, Policy, and Practices Concerning Adolescent Girl Trauma; State Government; Community of Excellence in Global Health Equity Micro-Grant, University at Buffalo, SUNY; Awarded; (07/01/2021-05/01/2022)
• Turnaround Micro-Credential; State Government; New York State Department of Education; Awarded; (06/01/2019-09/30/2020)

• Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE)
  Aug 2025-present

• Buffalo Center Chapter Departmental Representative, Board Member, and Delegate Assemblywoman, United University Professions (Grievance Officer for Academics, 2024-2026)
  Aug 2024-present
• Member, The Childhood, Law, & Policy Network at Queen Mary, University of London, United Kingdom Arts and Humanities Research Council
  Aug 2022-present
• Board Member, Fulbright Association, Fulbright Chapter of WNY/NWPA (Secretary, 2022-2025)
  Feb 2021-present
• Education Researcher, Partnership for the Public Good, Buffalo Commons
  Sep 2018-present