Kristie A. Ford

Kristie A. Ford (she/her) is the inaugural Director of the Center for Intergroup Dialogue at Mount Holyoke College. Extending her work as 2022-2023 Presidential Fellow under the leadership of Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ford’s administrative appointment is focused on expanding curricular, co-curricular, and professional development IGD efforts on campus and in the surrounding area.

A Professor in the Sociology and Critical Race & Political Economy departments, Ford’s research and teaching interests explore the connections between race, gender, and intersecting social identities in relation to two broad fields of study: (1) body management practices, and (2) social justice-focused pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning. Recent publications include a co-edited book, Intergroup Dialogue: Engaging Difference, Social Identities, and Social Justice: Research Perspectives and New Directions (Routledge, 2014), an article on the possibilities and challenges of white students developing alliances with people of color in Sociology of Race and Ethnicity (2015), and Facilitating Change through Intergroup Dialogue: Social Justice Advocacy in Practice (Routledge, 2018).

Based on her expertise in the field, Ford consults widely with higher educational, K-12, non-profit, and government agencies across the United States; in the last ten years, she has facilitated over one hundred workshops on teaching and learning as well as diversity, inclusivity, and social justice. For her work, she has received several honors, including: the President's Award at Skidmore College, the NAACP Community Service Award in Albany, NY, and the Regional Leadership Council on Inclusion Award in Albany, NY. She was also named Skidmore College’s Endowed Quadracci Chair in Social Responsibility in June 2019.