Amber R. Kelly
Professor of Social Work
Capstone Mentor
Dr. Amber Kelly is an Associate Professor of Social Work within Quinnipiac University's School for Health Sciences. She currently teaches both generalist and specialized year students in the MSW program, with focuses in theory, pracice, and psychological trauma. Her scholarship focuses on using trauma-informed clinical work and contemplative practices with survivors of both interpersonal and systemic violence, with a specific focus on working with currently and formerly incarcerated people. She is also active in working for social justice and systems change within institutions.
Dr. Kelly is active in several roles including working with the Quinnipiac University Prison Project, teaching trauma-informed and mindfulness based classes within Connecticut prisons, acting as member of the New Haven Women's Resettlement Working Group, and is a board member of both the New Lifestyles Women Empowerment Community and Next Level Empwerment Program. She also continues to maintain a small private practice, working with survivors of violence.
Dr. Kelly is active in several roles including working with the Quinnipiac University Prison Project, teaching trauma-informed and mindfulness based classes within Connecticut prisons, acting as member of the New Haven Women's Resettlement Working Group, and is a board member of both the New Lifestyles Women Empowerment Community and Next Level Empwerment Program. She also continues to maintain a small private practice, working with survivors of violence.
Education
- BS, University of Florida
- MSW, Florida State University
- PHD, Smith College
Areas of Expertise
- Race and Ethnicity
- Child Welfare
- Family Violence
- Criminal Justice
- Cultural Humility
Organization
- Social Work
Office Location
- Medicine, Nursing, Health Sci
Mail Drop
- NH-HSC
Courses
-
MED 700 SRCC Selective
Medicine Term 2 Year 1 2025 -
SW 503 Social Work Practice Ii: Social Work Practice with Groups, Organizations and Communities
Spring 2025 -
SW 511 Human Behavior in the Social Environment I: Theories for Practice for Individuals and Families
Fall 2024 -
SW 601 Social Work Practice III: Specialized Clinical Social Work Practice
Fall 2024
Quinnipiac Today
Experience
Quinnipiac University College Corps
Academic Lead / Liaison
Hamden, CT
2021 - 2021
Selected Publications
Invited Speaker
Social Work and Policing: A Webinar Series
Kelly, A., McGraw, D., Richardson, J., Brown, R., Allen, E., Fair, B., & Cifuentes, A.
NASW Diversity Committee Workshop, New Haven, CT, The NASW/CT Diversity Committee & Quinnipiac University Department of Social Work (May 15, 2021)
Invited Speaker
Social Workers, Community Safety, and Police Accountability
Kelly, A.
NASW Diversity Committee Workshop, New Haven, CT, NASW/CT Diversity Committee and Quinnipiac University Department of Social Work (June 5, 2021)
Invited Speaker
Black Lives, In Mind: The Lived Experience of Mass Incarceration, Trauma, and Recovery
Kelly, A., McGraw, D., Willis, L, & Richardson, J
Black Lives in Mind Series; Connecticut Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology, New Haven, CT, Connecticut Society for Psychoanalytic Psychlogy (Februray 27, 2021)
Consciousness Raisings 101
Kelly, A.
Community Workshop New Haven, CT, Seeds and Sprouts, New Haven (April 19, 2021)
Invited Speaker
One state one film: A conversation on restorative justice.
Kelly, A. Winfield, G., Williams, T., & Dawidoff, N.
One State, One Film Series, Hartford, CT, The Connecticut Collaborative on Poverty, Criminal Justice, & Race (2023)
Peer Reviewed Journal
Trauma-informed care in the Emergency Department: Concepts and recommendations for integrating practices into emergency medicine
Greenwald, A., Thomas, L., & Kelly, A.
28 (1) Medical Educaiton Online (2023)
Peer Reviewed Journal
The dynamic duo: Use of standardized clients across the social work practice and field curricula
Jacobson, S., Kelly, A., McCave, E., & Mutrie, L.
Journal of Social Work Education Accepted February, in process (2023)
Forthcoming Peer Reviewed Journal
“People care and I’m not invisible”: A qualitative study of street-based sex worker experiences of harm reduction
Cammisa, A., Codianni, B., & Kelly, A.
Submitted to Critical Public Health (2023)
Peer Reviewed Presentations
Phenomenological study of sex work and harm reduction: SWAN members share their experiences of the power of relationship, advocacy, and community building in one grassroots harm reduction organization supporting sex workers in New Haven, CT
Cammisa, A., Kelly, A., & Codianni, B.
13th National Harm Reduction Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, National Harm Reduction Coalition (2022)
Peer Reviewed Presentations
Online trauma-informed mindfulness based stress reduction program for formerly incarcerated and other women survivors of violence: Pandemic-era results from this virtual trauma-informed process
St. John, J., Kelly, A., Vrissis, E., & Sims, S
Society for Social Work & Research Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., Society for Social Work & Research (2022)
Peer Reviewed Presentations
Trauma-informed restorative practices in prison (and in life): Praxis
Meikle, C., Boyd, R., & Kelly, A.
National Association of Community and Restorative Justice Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, NACRJ (2022)
Peer Reviewed Presentations
24 Hours: Explorations of everyday prison life
Smoyer, A., Elumn, J., Kelly, A., & Meek, R.
22nd Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology, Malaga, Spain, European Society of Criminology (2022)
Invited Speaker
Prison Project Roundtable
Kelly, A.
Quinnipiac University Center for Research and Scholarship Roundtable, North Haven, CT, Quinnipiac University Center for Research and Scholarship (2021)
Invited Speaker
Trauma-informed care for the medical professional: A relationally-based approach
Kelly, A.
Nursing student relationship exchange: Quinnipiac University and Barbados Community College, March 11, 2020, Bridgetown, Barbados, Barbados Community College - Nursing Program (2020)
Faculty Workshop
Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Across the Curriculum: SHS Faculty Development Day January 14, 2020
Kelly, A. & Boucaud, D.
Faculty Development Day, North Haven, CT (2020)
Faculty Workshop
These challenging times: Managing change, using perseverance, & supporting students
Kelly, A., Bedard, L., & Miller, M.
School of Health Sciences Faculty Development Day Thursday May 14th 2020, North Haven, CT (2020)
Peer Reviewed Journal
UtilizingChange Leadership Within Social Work Education to Prioritize and Expand Interprofessional Education in a University Setting: A Case Study
McCave, E. L., Mutrie, L., Doyle, M. H., Jacobson, S., & Kelly, A.
20 (2) Advances in Social Work 497-514 Summer (2020)
Invited Speaker
Part Two: Trauma and Mass Incarceration
Kelly, A. & Codianni, B.
The Healthcare Worker's Argument for Prison Abolition, New Haven, CT (Zoom) (2020)
Peer Reviewed Presentations
Trauma-informed mindfulness in the prison setting
Kelly, A.
Trauma and Recovery Conference , Hamden, CT, The Connecticut Women's Consortium (2020)
Book review
Review of Outlaw Women: Prison, Rural Violence, and Poverty in the American West. By Susan Dewey, Bonnie Zare, Catherine Connolly, Rhett Epler, and Rosemary Bratton
Kelly, A.
34(6) Gender & Society 1047-1049 December (2020)
Invited Speaker
Trauma-informed healthcare: A framework for understanding and treatment
Kelly, A. & Thomas, L.
Trauma-informed Healthcare Conference, Bridgetown, Barbados, University of West Indies (2019)
Peer Reviewed Presentations
Sex Workers and Allies Network: A model of harm reduction for vulnerable women
Van Verdegham, B., Kelly, A., Codianni, B., & Graveline, S.
Association for Justice Involved Females and Organizations Conference, Atlanta, GA (2019)
Academic Awards, Fellowships and Grants
Community Foundation for a Greater New Haven Strategy Grant
Grant | 2018-2019
Funded: $5,736. Received funding from this agency for service work I do with the New Haven Women's Resettlement Working Group, a project I am a part of as a member of the QU Prison Project.