Nora Kassner (she/they) is a doctoral candidate in History of Public Policy at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her dissertation explores the transformation of U.S. family policy in the late 20th century through the experiences of queer foster parents and their foster children. Nora combines oral histories with archival research to capture the impacts of public policy on daily life in the United States. Prior to coming to graduate school, Nora worked as a community organizer, and a commitment to publicly-engaged scholarship remains central to her work.

Advisor: Alice O’Connor

“Hard to Place: Queer Foster Families and the Remaking of U.S. Family Policy, 1975-1996”

Kassner, Nora. “Making Queer Families: Foster Family Activism in Los Angeles, 1977-1985.” In Feminist and Queer Activism in Britain and the United States in the Long 1980s. Edited by Sarah Crook and Charlie Jeffries. Under contract with SUNY Press.

History of Public Policy

U.S. History

Comparative History of Gender and Sexuality