Jessica McKiernan is a Ph.D. student in music education with a choral cognate at Michigan State University, where she supervises student teachers; assists with undergraduate coursework; and serves as an advisor for the NAfME student chapter. Her research interests include gender and identity development through music education, inclusive pedagogy, and how to facilitate difficult conversations in ensembles.
Before moving to Michigan, she taught choir in Oregon, where she served as the head of her district’s secondary choral music learning team, festival creator and coordinator, and focused on engagement between schools and the community. She is a certified adjudicator through MSVMA.