Melissa Hardesty

Melissa Hardesty is an Associate Professor and Director of the BSW Program in the Department of Social Work at Binghamton University, part of the College of Community and Public Affairs (CCPA). Her research focuses on gender, child welfare, parenting, and kinship, with a methodological emphasis on ethnography and qualitative research. She holds a PhD from the University of Chicago, an MSW from Indiana University Northwest, and a BS from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Her work explores intersections of gender, digital representations, and state-mediated family structures. Notable projects include an ethnographic study of foster care and adoption agencies, a visual analysis of political selfies on Tumblr, and studies on Vietnamese sexual behavior and mental health. She collaborates with Binghamton University’s Sexualities Research Laboratory.

Recent publications address college student communication around consent, digital identity politics, and systemic issues in child welfare. Her research bridges sociological theory with practical implications for policy and practice. Despite no explicitly mentioned awards, her contributions to social work methodology and critical studies of family dynamics are widely recognized in her field.