Kels Bowman

Kels Bowman, Ph.D. candidate at Duke University, focuses on public policy with a particular interest in state-level policymaking and its impact on child and family wellbeing. Her research primarily explores period product insecurity and poverty, emphasizing developing innovative measures to assess and address these issues. Kels is passionate about the role of states as laboratories of democracy, investigating how state policies can serve as models for broader national strategies. Her current project involves developing and validating the Period Product Security Scale, a novel survey tool designed to capture the unique challenges of menstrual product insecurity. This work is conducted in collaboration with the National Diaper Bank Network, Alliance for Period Supplies, and the Diaper Bank of North Carolina, highlighting her commitment to community-engaged research.

Education
B.A. Sewanee: The University of the South '19, Political Science 
M.P.P. The American University '21, with concentrations in Social Policy and Advanced Policy Analysis 

Interests
Period Poverty; Material Hardships; Social Policy; Deservingness; Families and Children