50 Most Influential Latinos

Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez

Assistant Professor

Kennesaw State University

Dr. Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor in Social Work and Human Services at Kennesaw State University’s (KSU) WellStar College of Health and Human Services. She is one of KSU’s inaugural Diversity Fellows through the Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s Center for Diversity Leadership and Engagement. She is the co-principal investigator for the Atlanta Immigrant Crossroads Project, which led to various community-university partnerships and community-based participatory research projects on best practices for immigrant integration. The University System of Georgia, Kendeda Fund, and National Geographic Society have awarded her research funds. Her most recent applied research endeavors have been to develop an Immigrant Integration Toolkit for the State of Georgia and co-edit a book entitled Green Card Youth Voices: Stories from an Atlanta High School (Wise Ink Publishers, 2018), which has resulted in her team receiving one of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia’s inaugural Community Engagement Award.

Prior to coming to KSU, Dr. Rodriguez was the Director of the Arts and Not-for-Profit Management Programs at Salem College (Winston-Salem, NC). She was a Goizueta Foundation Fellow through the Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education and the state-wide coordinator for the Latino Youth Leadership Program through the J.W. Fanning Institute. Dr. Rodriguez has a long record of service in college and student affairs, inclusive of institutional development, multicultural student affairs, women’s empowerment programs, and student volunteer engagement.

Her primary research interests are in the field of immigrant integration and the role of the nonprofit sector in facilitating this process, specifically, the utilization of nonprofit organizations as both service and advocacy partners for policy change. Her many publications in peer-reviewed and practitioner outlets include work in the Child and Youth Services Review, INSIGHT for Diversity, Journal of Community Practice, Journal of Progressive Human Services, Journal of Urban Affairs, and Law and Policy.

Dr. Rodriguez’s teaching interests include nonprofit management, governance, and leadership, as well as public policy and civic engagement. She has developed courses in human resources management and social welfare policy, as well as overseas direct-practice internships and senior capstone courses. Four university centers for excellence in teaching and learning have consistently given her teaching notable recognition, which led to her selection as a Governor’s Teaching Fellow.

The University of Georgia awarded Dr. Rodriguez’s doctorate in Public Administration and Policy and Master of Social Work in Macro-level Community Practice. She earned a Master of Public Affairs with a concentration in Nongovernmental Organizations through the U.S. Peace Corps’ Masters International Program at Rutgers University. Florida International University granted her B.A. in Liberal Studies and Psychology, with a minor in Women’s Studies and Environmental Science.

Dr. Rodriguez lives out her mission in life with her husband and son in Marietta, Georgia, where they are active members of the community and Eastside Baptist Church. However, her heart is always with her mixed immigrant status, biracial, bicultural, and multilingual family members who are both near and far. Thus, in her free time, she enjoys “being home and travelling home” to make memories with those whom she loves, equipping the equippers of society to better serve humanity, and building a legacy through service and love.