Dr. Erin O’Brien is Associate Professor of Political Science at UMass Boston. Her scholarship has been extensively covered by media outlets and organizations including: The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, The Daily Beast, The Dallas Morning News, Huffington Post, The Houston Chronicle, The London School of Economics, The Miami Times, MSNBC, The New York Times, Project Vote, Salon, Slate, NPR’s The Takeaway, Talking Points Memo, & The Washington Post. Dr. O’Brien has published two books: The Politics of Identity: Solidarity Building Among America’s Working Poor (State University of New York Press) and Diversity in Contemporary American Politics and Government (Pearson). Her articles appear in journals including American Journal of Political Science, Perspectives on Politics, Political Research Quarterly, and Women & Politics.
Dr. O’Brien is a frequent commentator for news outlets including The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Cape Cod Times, Christian Science Monitor, NPR, NECN, and POTUS on issues of American politics, voter access, inequality, Massachusetts politics, and representation. Her political commentary has also run by Time and Newsweek. She has given invited lectures and keynote addresses to academic and practitioner audiences in China, Greece, South Korea, and for groups across the United States including the National Convention of League of Women Voters, League of Women Voters Ohio, League of Women Voters Connecticut, the Center for Women, Politics, and Policy, the Sidore Lecture Series, Harvard University, Rhodes College, Suffolk University, and University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute.
She is a Bostonian with Buckeye flair.