Biography
Dr. Catherine McKinley is an associate professor at the Tulane School of Social Work who has dedicated her career to understanding resilience among Indigenous peoples of the southeastern United States. In close collaboration with two tribes of the Gulf Coast, she developed the Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence, a culturally-grounded approach to understanding the persistence of physical and mental health disparities experienced by Indigenous peoples. Through the application of this framework, Dr. McKinley aims to develop and adopt a culturally relevant, strengths-based approach to protect and promote the health and well-being of Indigenous communities.
Since starting her position at Tulane in 2013, she has published over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and presented at over 70 national and international conferences on such topics. She is a recipient of the National Institutes of Health loan repayment program and has been involved in federally-funded research to address violence and health disparities using culturally relevant intervention approaches.