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​RESEARCH AREAS
My research area of interest and expertise is at the intersection of nonprofits, immigration, citizenship, urban context, inclusion, exclusion, and child welfare. As an interdisciplinary scholar, my work contributes to the field of nonprofits, immigration, citizenship, urban planning and policy, and social work. I specialize in theory and scale development and mixed methods research.

Some of the questions I have investigated in that past include:
  • To what degree are cities in Florida inclusive towards immigrants?
  • How do US immigrant-serving nonprofits contribute to immigrant inclusion?
  • Why do immigrant-serving nonprofits form?
  • How does a city's inclusion level impact the strategies that local immigrant nonprofits deploy?
  • Do more inclusive cities facilitate or constrain contentious advocacy?
  • How do foster and adoption agencies exclude? Why do they exclude?​
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PUBLICATIONS

Sorrell-Medina, Z. (2025). National goal trends: Understanding the goals of US immigrant-serving nonprofits. Immigrant and Refugee Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2025.2494022

Sorrell-Medina, Z (2024). Testing the relationship between local context and immigrant-serving nonprofit strategies. Nonprofit Policy Forum. doi.org/10.1515/npf-2023-0063
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Sorrell-Medina, Z. (2024) Optimizing immigrant and ethnic participation in qualitative research. In Sage Research Methods: Diversifying and decolonizing research. Sage publications, https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529691108

Sorrell-Medina, Z (2024). The theory of citizenry exclusion: Understanding why immigrant-serving nonprofits emerge. Journal of Ethnic and Racial Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2023.2259448

​Nicholls, W. & Sorrell-Medina, Z. (2023). Undocumented immigrant activism: The struggle for rights and recognition. In Van Liempt, I., Schapendonk, J., Campos-Delgado, A., (Eds.), Research handbook on irregular migration. (pp. 106-117). Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800377509.00017
 
Sorrell-Medina, Z. (2022). A Strategy Typology: Unearthing How U.S.-Immigrant-Serving Nonprofits Contribute to Immigrant Inclusion Outcomes. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2022.2132571
 
WORKS UNDER REVIEW/IN PROGRESS (SELECTED LIST)
 
Sorrell-Medina, Z, Aparacio, M., Godoy, A., Juarez, A. (Article). Nonprofit exclusion: How foster and adoption agencies exclude immigrant, ethnic, and religious groups
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Sorrell-Medina, Z & Aparacio, M. (Article). A scoping literature review of immigrant-serving nonprofit organizations.

Sorrell-Medina, Z, Tessler, T., Chung, E.  (Article). Expanding citizenry exclusion:  The case of Asian American exclusion during COVID-19 
 
Stamps, T & Sorrell-Medina,  Z (Article). Unwanted Kids: Assessing Depictions of Foster Youth in Films

Sorrell-Medina, Z (Book). Marigold: Uncovering the complexity of at promise youth.
 
REPORTS

 Sorrell-Medina, Z., Gonzales, L., Townley, H., Caballero, M., Quijano, M., Collins, S. (2021). A Report on the state of Immigrant inclusion in Florida. Welcoming Gainesville & Alachua Co.
 
Sorrell-Medina, Z., Madueke, K. (2021). Evaluating the effectiveness of an art-based peace program in contributing to processes of peace in Jos, Nigeria. Yemaya Productions, LLC.

DATA

​Foster Parent Exclusion Data
The foster parent exclusion data compiles Reddit posts exhibiting how (prospective) foster and adoption parents experience exclusion in the process of becoming a foster-adopt parent. Access link in between parenthesis --> (here)
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