Elizabeth Ackert

Elizabeth Ackert is an Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), affiliated with the College of Letters and Science. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Washington and has conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Texas at Austin’s Population Research Center. Her work focuses on racial/ethnic inequality, immigration, education, health disparities, and urban geography, with a particular emphasis on how contextual factors influence outcomes for Mexican-origin children and adolescents. Dr. Ackert is a Research Associate at UCSB’s Broom Center for Demography.

• Education:
• PhD in Sociology, University of Washington (2015)
• MA in Sociology, University of Washington (2011)
• MA in Iberian and Latin American Studies, UC San Diego (2008)
• BA in Biology, Gustavus Adolphus College (2001)

Her research examines the distribution of racial/ethnic and immigrant groups across schools, neighborhoods, and destinations, and evaluates how these contexts affect disparities in education, health, and mobility. Recent projects include studies on Latino/a destinations and health access, kin proximity’s role in residential mobility, and STEM outcomes for Latinx students.

Dr. Ackert has secured significant funding, including NSF grants totaling over $500,000, and has published extensively in journals like Health Affairs, Demography, and Journal of Marriage and Family. She teaches courses on urban geography and geographic research methods.

• Awards: NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship (2018-2019), UCSB Faculty Career Development Award (2021-2022)
• Grants: NIH-funded studies on health disparities, NSF-funded work on kinship networks and STEM efficacy
• Advising: Mentors graduate students in geography and sociology, including Justin Cook and Samuel Orndorff