Kaleigh Karageorge
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Meet Professor Karageorge
Years at Knox: 2025 to present
Kaleigh Karageorge (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Knox College. Prior to this position, she served as a Predoctoral Community and Environment Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution's Anacostia Community Museum. She received her PhD in Public Policy in the Department of Political Science at Purdue University.
Her research lies at the intersection of public policy and social movement theory, with substantive interests in environmental justice (EJ), coalition-building, interest groups, and community engaged methods. Her current research agenda aims to ensure that the authentic voices of communities who are the most impacted by environmental issues, yet also the most overlooked, are adequately heard in formal and informal policy spaces. Accordingly, she asks how grassroots EJ groups can partner with mainstream environmental organizations and still maintain autonomy, staying accountable to the needs of the communities they represent.