Research

Positionality Statement

I am a White, cisgender, temporarily able-bodied woman. The oldest of five, I am a Northern Kentucky native that proudly claims the Cincinnati region as home. I was raised in a two-parent financially stable household and attended Catholic school the entirety of my K-16 education. Both of my parents hold college degrees that they earned as part-time college students in my youth. Through them, I learned to value formal education and hard work. I am the first in my family to earn a Master's degree and will be the first to earn a Doctorate.

Although I no longer identify as Catholic, my upbringing in the Church shaped my values. I resonate with the tenants of Catholic social justice (although how they are enacted in my life looks different than the Church prescribes). I feel compelled to be part of the change towards a more equitable and just world. There have been limitations in my own life due to the identities I hold, and I work to reduce those limitations for others through my career and research endeavors.

My lived experiences shape my perspectives, and I navigate my research through a lens of many privileges. But I strive to leverage those privileges towards creating and enabling conditions of equity and belonging.

Research Interests:
Creating and Sustaining Belonging Through Opportunity

Critical Educational Leadership & Agency

Postsecondary Access & K-16 Continuity

Critical Whiteness & Collaborative Resistance

Equity-Conscious Methodologies & Data Justice

Publications

Martin, R. S., & Ritter Rickels, K. (2026). Data as a flashlight: Equity-conscious survey design. [Manuscript submitted for publication]. OneGoal.

Ritter Rickels, K., & Fallon, K. (2026). The caucacity is strong: A dialogue uncovering social justice (mal)practice of well-meaning White women. [Manuscript submitted for publication]. College of Education, Northern Kentucky University.

Ritter Rickels, K. (2025). Empowering educational leaders: K-12 leadership development as high-impact mentoring. The Chronicle of Mentoring and
Coaching. 9(3). doi.org/10.62935/s2405p

Ritter Rickels, K. (2025). Beyond boundaries: Transforming postsecondary readiness through developmental networks. The Chronicle of Mentoring
and Coaching. 9(3). doi.org/10.62935/s2405p

Ritter Rickels, K., & Tosolt, B. (2025). Beyond boundaries: Transforming postsecondary readiness through developmental networks. The Chronicle of
Mentoring and Coaching. 9(3). doi.org/10.62935/s2405p

Worthy, T. N., Walton, C. L., Tosolt, B., Ritter Rickels, K., Loftis, R., Hilpp, I., & Evans-Phillips, J. (2025). Flock around and find out: Dissertating, murmurating, and liberating. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 10(3), 94–103. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2025.504

Schindler, W. K., Noe, C. F., Matthews, C., Ritter Rickels, K., & Tosolt, B. (2025). Autoethnography as Praxis: The Art of Transformative Learning in Educational Leadership. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/19394225251379067

Fallon, K., & Ritter Rickels, K. (2024). Faculty as social justice change agents: Reviewing motivators, barriers, and approaches. Journal of Excellence in College Teaching. 35(3).

Ritter Rickels, K., Martin, R., & Boumgarden, J. (2024). Empowering educational leaders: K-12 leadership development supports student success in postsecondary. OneGoal.

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