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, Journal of Marriage and FamilyContextsThe Nation, Ms. Magazine, and Huffington Post, among other outlets.


Selected Publications

Amerikaner, Layne, Clayton Buck, Robyn Moore, Jennifer Martinez, and Collin Mueller. 2025. “Administrative Burdens as a Family Affair: Navigating Racialized Safety-Net Systems After Welfare Reform.” Journal of Marriage and Family. DOI: 10.1111/jomf.13064

Amerikaner, Layne, Hope Xu Yan (equal first author), Liana C. Sayer, Long Doan, Jessica N. Fish, Kelsey J. Drotning, and R. Gordon Rinderknecht. 2023. “Blurred Border or Safe Harbor? Emotional Well-Being among Sexual and Gender Minority Adults Working from Home during COVID-19.” Social Science & Medicine. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115850

Areas of Interest

  • Gender, Work, and Family
  • LGBTQ+ Families
  • Organizations, Occupations, and Work
  • Health and Well-being
  • Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research

Degrees

  • MA
    Public Policy and Gender Studies
  • MA
    Sociology
Headshot
Parren Mitchell Art-Sociology Building 4114
Department of Sociology
Email
lamerika [at] umd.edu