Felicia M. Sullivan is a community advocate, educator and researcher passionately committed to transformation towards a more just society. For 25 years, Dr. Sullivan has worked to build individual, organizational, and community capacity towards change.
Dr. Sullivan is associate research director at JFF, a national nonprofit that accelerates the alignment and transformation of the American workforce and education systems to ensure access to economic advancement for all. Her current research focuses on deeper learning outcomes for high school students and the diffusion of innovation and scaled impact. She is an associate lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Boston and adjunct faculty at the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Prior to joining JFF, Dr. Sullivan was senior researcher at the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University. There she worked on diverse research portfolio using multiple methods to inform policy and practice towards greater equity in the civic and political spheres for marginalized and disconnected young people.
Dr. Sullivan’s community-based practice is in multi-ethnic, urban settings developing innovative programs for diverse community needs. She received her PhD in public policy from the John W. McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Boston and holds a Masters of Arts in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research.
Dr. Sullivan’s home and personal civic and political work is centered in Lowell, MA.
Current research interests:
- Institutional design, organizational theory and links to political participation
- Human development and organizational learning in community-based settings
- Self organization and peer learning networks
- Youth development and out-of-school-time programming
- The social impact of science and technology development
- Media, communications, arts and culture for community development, civic engagement and political action
Key Skills: research, analysis & assessment; strategic planning; program development, management & evaluation; training & curriculum development; technology planning & communications; fiscal management & fund development; strong written & verbal communication skills; creative problem-solving ability; ability to think in global integrative terms
Key Values:
- Connection – fostering networks that build collective strength
- Capacity – building organizational and individual skills that are able to sustain and grow for long-term success
- Cognition – creating environments where knowledge and exploration are driving forces for innovation
- Creativity – supporting intuitive processes that yield new ways of doing and achieving
- Compassion – working from a stance of tolerance and respect for all