Mary Helen O’Connor
Instructor Director, Perimeter College Center for Community Engagement- Biography
Dr. Mary Helen O’Connor has courtesy faculty appointment in the School of Public Health. She oversees community engagement as a member of the Georgia State University Prevention Research Center team.
Dr. O’Connor is the director for the Center for Community Engagement at Perimeter College. Her teaching and research in the field of migration studies, education, and rhetoric and composition explores refugee education, agency, and identity. For more than a decade, Dr. O’Connor has been a volunteer and advocate for refugees and immigrants in Clarkston, GA, one of the largest resettlement communities in the U.S. She presents and lectures extensively on migrant students, refugee and immigrant issues, and community advocacy.
Her volunteering efforts in Clarkston have been adapted to teach undergraduates tactics for research and community engagement in migrant-based communities. The Perspectives on Global Migration Project Lab is beginning its activities in Clarkston.