Dr. Emily J. Wornell is the associate director of research at the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at Ball State University, where she is also the director of the RUPRI Center for Local and State Policy (CLASP). As a rural sociologist and demographer, her areas of specialization are inequality and population change in rural communities. Her research explores household livelihood strategies, community vulnerability to economic change, community and economic development, and immigration in new and rural communities, and has been funded through grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the International Social Science Council, the Rural Sociological Society, and the State of Indiana, among others.
Emily also has a strong interest in the intersection of research and policy, and rural voice in policy decisions, implementation, and evaluation. She regularly works directly with communities and policy makers to better understand and utilize research to develop more sustainable and efficacious policy, and presents her research and findings at national conferences, including the Population Association of America, American Sociological Association, and the Rural Sociological Society. She has also presented her research internationally – in Southeast Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, and Canada – and has been an invited speaker and panelist around the world. Her research and findings have been highlighted in major national and international media outlets, including the New York Time, Frontline, BBC the World, and the Urban Institute.
Emily received a dual-title PhD in rural sociology and demography from The Pennsylvania State University in 2017 and holds certificates in survey methodology and teaching. She earned a Master’s of Public Policy (MPP) from Oregon State University in 2012.
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