Kaycee Bills

Kaycee Bills is an Assistant Professor in the Social Work department at Saint Mary's College. She holds a PhD from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, an MSW from Hawaii Pacific University, and a BSW from the University of Saint Francis. Her professional background includes roles in disability case management, foster care, military service (US Navy Reserves), and community mental health. She co-founded the Whitley County Dazzlers (a special needs cheerleading squad) and serves as a board member for the Invisible Disabilities Association. Additionally, she is a research affiliate with Boston College's Racism-Based Violence & Injury Prevention lab.

Her research focuses on disability inclusion, bullying mitigation through extracurricular activities, student loan debt disparities, and the intersection of race and disability in mental health outcomes. Recent work includes studies on cyberbullying's impact on LGBTQ+ youth with disabilities and barriers faced by rural students with disabilities. She teaches courses such as Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare Policy, emphasizing practical mentorship and collaborative research with students.

Bills' publications analyze topics like Universal Design for Learning in higher education, maternal stress among low-income mothers, and drug-refusal strategies in rural Native Hawaiian youth. Her work bridges gaps between social work practice and systemic policy reform, particularly in marginalized communities. Outside academia, she advocates for disability representation through sports and supports her daughter's involvement in Special Olympics.