Dr. Kerry Doyle is an Associate Professor at the USC SDP School of Social Work and has been with her university since 2011. In 2024, she was awarded the Jane Addams Award, presented to the professor of the year as voted by the graduating class. From 2016 to 2024, Kerry was a lead instructor for multiple practice-based classes. In addition to her leadership responsibilities, she has been an integral part of curriculum development at the school.  From 2015 to 2019, she assisted with coordination of the National Center for School Crisis & Bereavement (NCSCB) Summer Training Program and assisted with development of the NCSCB Fellowship Program. In 2020, Kerry co-developed and facilitated the School Social Work Trauma Training  (SSWTT) program which trains students on trauma responsive school-based interventions. Her doctoral research, Lessons Learned: A Qualitative Study of School Social Workers’ Experiences Providing Crisis Response and Recovery After Targeted Gun Violence, examined how MSW education can better prepare school social workers to provide crisis response and trauma interventions after mass violence. She also co-developed the Mental Health–Threat Assessment curriculum for the Center for Safe and Resilient Schools and Workplaces. In addition to training schools on threat assessment, she also speaks on Trauma Informed Skills for Educators (TISE) for the Center.

Kerry has numerous publications and presentations in national and international conferences on trauma research, evidence-based interventions, mindfulness, crisis response, and trauma recovery. (Council on Social Work Education, Network for Social Work Management, School Social Work Association of America, Advancing School Mental Health Annual Conference). In 2023, she was a panelist speaking on a, Generation of Trauma: Addressing Mass Violence, at the NASW North and South Carolina Essentials Conference. She also has extensive experience providing workshops on wellness, emotional intelligence, and stress management (Harvard University, Tufts University, Middlebury College, and Roger Williams University).

A licensed independent clinical social worker, Kerry has over 20 years of experience in assessment, treatment and quality assurance monitoring in the mental health, judicial and school settings. She maintains a private practice that focuses on the treatment of trauma, anxiety, and mood disorders. She is trained in EMDR, CBT, hypnotherapy and has a particular professional interest in social work & spirituality. Kerry co-hosts a podcast, A Faith Project, that explores the Christian faith in daily life. She is extremely passionate about the power of connection in healing which was part of her doctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania where she received a Doctorate in Clinical Social Work. Kerry received her Masters of Science degree in Social Work with a concentration in health and mental health from Columbia University. Her undergraduate degree is from Brown University where she majored in political science.