Lisa Fein

Lisa Fein is a Lecturer in Organizational Studies at the University of Michigan, affiliated with the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA). She holds positions in the Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies (CREES), the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia (WCEE), and the Department of Organizational Studies. Her research focuses on gender, ethnic inequality, citizenship, and social change, with a particular emphasis on qualitative studies in Estonia and trans/gender non-binary communities.

Fein earned her A.B. in Russian Area Studies from Columbia University and her Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in Sociology and Russian/East European Studies from the University of Michigan. She previously taught at Westminster College in Missouri.

Her current research explores gendered rituals like weddings among trans/non-binary individuals, building on earlier work analyzing ethnic boundaries and citizenship identities in post-Soviet Estonia. She has published in Administrative Science Quarterly, Citizenship Studies, and Political & Military Sociology.