Hailey Saya Tomlinson
Hailey Saya Tomlinson received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in 2026. She is now working as Paralegal at GLAD Law.
At PIRL, Hailey worked on the Race Trends Project, studying pathways to and determinants of social mobility across the United States. Outside of PIRL, she works as a research assistant for Professor Angie Bautista-Chavez in the Johns Hopkins Political Science Department, where she studies the impact of the digital landscape on political organizing in racialized communities. Graduating as a part of the class of 2026, Hailey has recently received a Dean’s ASPIRE Grant from the Office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity to support her senior thesis—Understanding Polyvictimization as an Incarceration Determinant for Transgender Women of Color. Previously, she has also won the 2024 Best Undergraduate Paper Award at the Southern Demographic Association annual meeting, completed a summer fellowship at the UT Austin Population Research Center under Professor Becky Pettit (courtesy of the National Science Foundation), and worked as a research assistant at the Arrighi Center for Global Studies under Professor Beverly Silver.
On campus, Hailey is a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and the Critical Diaspora Studies Working Group at the Chloe Center for the Critical Study of Racism, Immigration, and Colonialism. In her free time, she enjoys exploring nature, trying new restaurants in Baltimore, and going to concerts.
Research Interests: 2STGNC+ life; race, class, caste & morality; prisons & policing; political organizing; critical theory
Favorite Places in Baltimore: Stony Run Trail, Patterson Park, Fed Hill Park, Ottobar, The Compound, Butcher’s Hill