J Coley (they/them) is a Ph.D Candidate and Graduate Instructor in the Department of Sociology at University at Buffalo.  As an urban sociologist and public scholar, their research examines the lived experiences of Black and Brown people experiencing gentrification and other housing market pressures. J's current program of research uses qualitative methods to address how race informs experiences of neighborhood change in historically Black neighborhoods in mid-sized cities. 

J has already established themselves as an expert in the field. They have been quoted in several recent NYT pieces following the mass shooting at the Tops Supermarket on the East Side of Buffalo, New York. Further, they are a co-creator of the #BuffaloSyllabus, a collection of works about the historical roots and contemporary implications of racism in Buffalo. J's dissertation, “Gentrification and Displacement in the American Rustbelt: A Qualitative Study of Neighborhood Change and Experience,” is a qualitative examination into the lives of people affected by gentrification and displacement on the East Side of Buffalo. 

J is currently on the Academic Job Market and seeking an Assistant Professor position or a Postdoc to begin in Fall 2023.