mpardue-kim@ssw.umaryland.eduPrevious education
MSW, University of Maryland School of Social Work
BA, University of Colorado, Boulder
Research interests
Parenting; childhood trauma and healing; relationship violence; supporting immigrant and refugee communities; constructivist grounded theory; lived-experiences; community-engaged participatory research
Morgan Pardue-Kim is a doctoral candidate currently conducting her dissertation, “Unaccompanied Refugee Minors’ Experiences as Parents: A Constructivist Grounded Theory and Participatory Approach.” Using methods informed by community-based participatory research, the study explores the parenting experiences of unaccompanied refugee minors (URM) from Central America. This bilingual dissertation is guided by a community advisory board of unaccompanied refugee minor (URM) parents, parents from Central America, URM program employees, and immigrant and refugee advocates. It is being conducted in collaboration with a small research team of community-based individuals who have similar lived experiences as the participants. URM parents are centered by conducting several in-depth interviews and multiple member checks throughout the study. Data collection and analysis are systematically implemented utilizing constructivist grounded theory, which further elevates parents’ lived experiences in the manifestation of this project.
During her PhD training, Morgan’s research interests focused on factors that best support parents who have experienced childhood trauma. She is a certified Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; 3-way) and Reflective Functioning (RF) coder.
Since 2013, Morgan has worked on various research projects investigating themes relevant to immigrant and refugee communities. Her current work on a research team led by Dr. Kerri Evans includes qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis, and interpretation of bilingual data on outcomes for URM and unaccompanied children (UC), and barriers experienced by Latine/x immigrants and refugees in Baltimore.
Morgan has social work practice experience with families and Latine/x communities starting in 2007. Working on the U.S./Mexico border, she was a case manager and victim advocate for victims/survivors of sexual assault. She then worked as a health counselor at a public infectious disease hospital in Ecuador as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and was a social work intern serving Latine/x immigrant families in Baltimore.