Maria Kefalas is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. She earned her BA at Wellesley College in economics, worked at the Brookings Institution before receiving her doctorate in sociology at the University of Chicago. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and teaching at Barnard College-Columbia, she joined the faculty of Saint Joseph's University.
The author of numerous books and articles including Working-Class Heroes, Promises I Can Keep (recipient of the American Sociological Association's William Goode Distinguished Book Award), Hollowing Out the Middle, and Harnessing Grief, her work has been funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the William T. Grant Foundation.
She is currently conducting research on parents' experiences with newborn screening and rare diseases.
