Layne Amerikaner (she/her) is a University of Maryland sociology doctoral candidate. Her research interests include intersectional approaches to studying health and well-being, LGBTQ+ families, and workplace inequality. Amerikaner is the co-author of Thinking Outside the Girl Box: Teaming Up With Resilient Youth in Appalachia, published by Ohio University Press in 2014. 

Her dissertation research, which is supported by a Russell Sage Foundation Dissertation Research Grant, uses qualitative and quantitative methods to examine workplace experiences and well-being among LGBTQ+ adults in the U.S. during the COVID era. 

Prior to pursuing a doctoral degree, she worked as a writer and editor for multiple nonprofit and community-based advocacy organizations. She has a master's degree in public policy and gender studies from George Washington University, a master's degree in sociology from the University of Maryland, and a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Franklin & Marshall College. Her work has been published in Social Science & Medicine, Contexts, The Nation, Ms. Magazine, and Huffington Post, among other outlets.