Katie Gary is a Research Scientist for Assessment for Good. Before joining AERDF, Katie was a Postdoctoral Associate Researcher for Duke University in which she studied racial disparities in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD). Specifically, she studied how the mental and physical toll of minority-related stress (i.e., everyday discrimination) could predict aging disorders through the lens of sociological theory. Katie received a Ph.D in Sociology from Kent State University where the focus of her research was on how emotion, identity, and the self intertwine with social structure and inequality from a social psychological perspective. She also received a M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, where she performed child/family therapy to help improve the well-being of children and teenagers aged 5-18 using a systems-ecological, cognitive-behavioral, and strength-based approach.