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Kelly J. Baker on Muck Rack

Kelly J. Baker

(She/Her)
Florida
As seen in: Pod Only Knows, Medium, The New York Times, Color Research & Application, HuffPost, Wiley Online Library, News.com.au, TED, The Atlantic, Substack, New Zealand Herald and
apex predator of writing. author: Gospel According to the Klan, The Zombies Are Coming, Final Girl, etc. elder millennial. future ghost. #WritingKitties she/her

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Kelly J. Baker’s Biography

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I’m a freelance writer with a religious studies PhD who covers religion, higher education, gender, labor, motherhood, and popular culture. I have regular columns at the Chronicle for Higher Education‘s Vitae project, Killing the Buddha, and Sacred Matters. I’ve written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Bearings, The Rumpus, The Manifest-Station, Religion Dispatches, Religion & Politics, Christian Century, Washington Post, and Brain, Child.

I’m the previous editor of Women in Higher Educat…

Kelly J. Baker’s Journalist Portfolio

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Stalled Progress for Women at Work

Stalled Progress for Women at Work

In October, LeanIn.org and McKinsey released their study, Women in the Workplace 2017, which relied on data f…

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#DearBetsy, Leave Title IX Alone

#DearBetsy, Leave Title IX Alone

I've been worried about your approach to higher education since at least your confirmation hearings to become…

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Furious, But Frightened

Furious, But Frightened

Weeks ago, I happened to check the visitor posts on my Facebook author page, which must be approved manually.…

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Necessary Unruliness

Necessary Unruliness

"Well-behaved women seldom make history" is an often-quoted phrase written in an article by historian Laurel …

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Taking a Digital Break

Taking a Digital Break

A couple of months ago, I decided I had had it with Twitter and Facebook. I was at a breaking point. There wa…

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Losing Our Selves, But Never Getting Lost

Losing Our Selves, But Never Getting Lost

There's a book both of my kids love for me to read to them, The Monster Who Lost His Mean (2012). The Monster…

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Articles

Thriving with purpose: Navigating a changing workforce

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By Kelly J. Baker
| Thrivent
In recent years, a dramatic transformation has occurred in the workplace. As businesses evolve and organizations transform, the workforce of today must be willing to navigate and embrace change. Because we know that change is one of the few true constants. Transforming for the future That same expectation to navigate and embrace change is true at Thrivent.
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The bees are angry.

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By Kelly J. Baker
| Substack
Several weeks ago, I almost had a panic attack filling out an online form. Granted, the form was for something important, and I didn’t want to mess it up. But, it wasn’t a life or death situation. Yet, my body decided it was. My breathing was ragged. My heart pounded rapidly in my chest. My eyes filled up with tears. I dragged my hands through hair, and my already disheveled pixie cut was even more so.
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It is what it is

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By Kelly J. Baker
| Substack
I'm not working on my book again. It feels like a constant refrain these days. I'm not working on my book, I'm not working on my book, I'm not working on my book. It’s one I can’t escape—even though I keep trying. And it is a constant refrain. And it also isn’t. I keep starting working and stopping. Stopping and starting. Over and over and over again. And endless, painfully unavoidable cycle. It’s the not working on the book that I focus on—obsess about really.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

I was a reporter & arts critic for my community college's newspaper, where I first learned that critic shouldn't mean harshly critical.

Have you ever used a typewriter?

YES. I didn't have a computer at home in high school, so I used my mom's electric typewriter at work to type up assignments. It was painful.

How is social media changing news?

Social media shows us how folks react to stories as they break, which is cool. But I so worry about the fake news that appears too.

Awards

DeRose-Hinkhouse Award of Excellence

2016 - Blog Series

DeRose-Hinkhouse Award for Excellence for Blog Series went to a series of essays on racial justice, Standing for Justice, at Bearings. My essay, September 11th, was a part of the series.

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Choice Outstanding Academic Title

2012 - Academic Monograph

Each year, Choice selects the best academic monographs to become Outstanding Academic Titles. The selection only includes around 10% of the roughly 7000 books reviewed annually by Choice. My book, Gospel According to the Klan (2011), was a Choices 2012 Outstanding Academic Titles.

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