Mollie T. McQuillan

Mollie McQuillan is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Dr. McQuillan is also a faculty affiliate of the Interdisciplinary Training Program in Educational Sciences, Center for Demography and Ecology, Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, Institute for Clinical and Translational Research’s Collaborative Center for Health Equity, Department of Educational Policy Studies, and Institute for Diversity Science. Their research examines the intersection of educational policy, leadership, school climates, and health of LGBTQ+ people in PK-12 schools.

Dr. McQuillan has been named a 2025-2030 W. T. Grant Scholar, the 2025 Emerging Scholar Award for the American Educational Research Association's Division L (Educational Politics and Policy), and the 2023 Outstanding Early Career Award for the American Educational Research Association's Division A (Administration, Organization, and Leadership) Emerging Scholar Award. Dr McQuillan and their team also won the Outstanding Educational Policy Report Award (short) from Division L: (Educational Politics and Policy).

Dr. McQuillan's PhD is in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University, where they were a Northwestern University Presidential Fellow, a National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellow, and 2016-2017 Sexualities Project at Northwestern Dissertation Fellow. They have a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago in Political Science and Psychology and two master’s degrees, one in Teaching from the University of Saint Thomas (Social Studies licensure for grades 5-12) and another in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University. Dr. McQuillan has earned the Management for Scientists and Engineers Certificate from Kellogg Business School and the Interdisciplinary Society, Biology, and Health Certificate from Northwestern University.

Prior to Dr. McQuillan's graduate studies at Northwestern, Mollie spent 12 years working with adolescents, including seven as a public school teacher. During that time, they witnessed how schools operate from the inside as a high school teacher, varsity athletic coach, teacher leader, and mentor. These experiences profoundly shaped their research outlook and its emphasis on the multiple ways health, educational environments, and policy overlap, particularly for marginalized populations.