Dr. Jennifer Kam is Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is also affiliated with the Chicana/o Studies Institute and the Migration Initiative at UCSB. Jennifer’s research examines how stressors rooted in structural barriers are associated with the health and wellbeing of migrant youth and their families. She conducts quantitative and qualitative research to identify promotive factors at different levels (e.g., individual, interpersonal, community, institutional, policy, cultural) that can reduce inequities and contribute to thriving. Much of Jennifer’s work has focused on how undocumented immigrants are affected by educational and health inequities in the United States and how such inequities might be addressed. Her current research examines the challenges that highly under-resourced Latin American families face when experiencing migration-based separation – where one parent migrates to the United States while the other parent remains in their home country, often with their children. Through her research, Jennifer is working to inform policy and practice, with the goal of easing the burdens of migration-based family separation and undocumented immigration, while facilitating togetherness.

Jennifer’s research can be found in prestigious journals such as Journal of Communication, Communication Monographs, Communication Research, Human Communication Research, Health Communication, and Prevention Science. Jennifer has received numerous awards from the National Communication Association for her research and service, including the Early Career Award (2016) from the interpersonal communication division, and the Promoting Diversity and Inclusion Award (2022) from the health communication division. In 2023, Jennifer received a Presidential Citation from the National Communication Association for her efforts to make the discipline more community- and culturally-centered.