Author, Researcher, Educator.
I’m currently available for speaking engagements and consultation.
Photo credit: Brian Kaiser Photography
About
Kelly Capatosto is an author, researcher, and educator based in Boston, MA. She works to build more equitable social systems through policy, education, and addressing the impact of new technologies.
Born and raised in rural Ohio, Kelly is passionate about building bridges between communities through sustained dialogue and empathy. She addresses the interconnected impacts of racism, sexism, and economic oppression by navigating the intersections of her own identities—such as acknowledging her white privilege alongside celebrating her Hispanic/Latina heritage.
Her work has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, Slate, and The New Republic
Experience & Education
Most recently, Kelly served as the Senior Data Policy Specialist at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University. For 6 years, she led the Institute’s agenda on social cognition, K-12 education policy, and data and algorithmic equity. She also led the launch of Kirwan’s online Implicit Bias module series, which has reached over 75,000 participants in the fields of education, child welfare, and health.
Kelly is a three-time OSU graduate. She has masters degrees in School Psychology and Public Administration as well as a Bachelors in Psychology. She is currently a J.D. candidate at Harvard Law School.
Media Features
Op-Ed Featured by WIRED
This is not just a battle for the future of abortion-related speech; it is a struggle to preserve the very essence of the internet as we know it today.
PHOTOGRAPH: ANDREW BROOKES/GETTY IMAGESOp-ed Featured in the Columbus Dispatch
Opinion published in the Columbus Dispatch regarding the decision of the Ohio State Board of Education to repeal their anti-racism resolution (Resolution 20).
A Guaranteed Income for the 21st Century
“Released in June 2021 by Naomi Zewde, Kyle Strickland, Kelly Capatosto, Ari Glogower, and Darrick Hamilton, and sponsored by the Economic Security Project. This research report outlines the team’s proposal for a national guaranteed income. Building on a proposal endorsed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., their guaranteed income proposal is designed to eliminate poverty in the United States and lift the incomes of tens of millions of Americans.”
Featured by the New York Times in: What the Rich Don’t Want to Admit about the Poor, OPINION by Ezra Klein.
QED with Dr. B (WOSU)
“Kelly Capatosto, senior research associate at Ohio State University's The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity explores how implicit bias plays into our everyday lives and even impacts our technology.”
