Teaching
Professor Healy is a tenured Assistant Professor of Sociology at Elgin Community College in the greater Chicagoland area, where she has taught since 2021. She also serves as a continuing instructor at both Bunker Hill Community College and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) in Boston, Massachusetts. MCPHS is the oldest institution of higher education in Boston and among the largest schools of pharmacy in the United States, training future healthcare leaders both domestically and internationally. 

With over a decade of experience in higher education, Professor Healy's teaching spans sociology, psychology, and interdisciplinary coursework centering trauma-informed praxis throughout her work. Her courses have included introductory sociology and psychology, human sexuality, intimate partner violence prevention, death and dying, gender studies, human growth and development, urban sociology, intimate partner relationships, and marriage and the family. She is currently developing a new Traumatology course at Elgin Community College, cross-listed for students in sociology, psychology, human services, and a range of fields across the College. Students from other disciplines, including Criminal Justice, Nursing, Early Childhood Education, and even Fire Science are also strongly encouraged to enroll because of the significant need for professional competency in trauma. 

Professor Healy is committed to democratizing access to education. She grounds her teaching in providing free and open-source materials, connecting students to university- and community-based resources, and advocating for student success through culturally-sustaining pedagogy. Her forthcoming book, The Sociology of Trauma, will be made available to students free of charge.

Professor Healy holds professional memberships in the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), and the Trauma Research Foundation (TRF). She maintains certifications in traumatic grief response and domestic violence advocacy, and writes a monthly column for The Observer called "Trauma Talk."

Research
Healy's research focuses on trauma intervention, with particular emphasis on trauma-informed praxis in spiritual care settings. She is currently conducting IRB-approved qualitative research at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, interviewing faith leaders across traditions about the trauma-based needs of their congregations, their training and preparation, and the risks posed when spiritual care providers lack a trauma-informed lens. This work spans the boundaries of spiritual traditions and international borders. 

Her work distinguishes between practice and praxis. While practice refers to the application of standardized skills or protocols, praxis is an active, reflective, and co-creational process—one that requires practitioners to interrogate their own assumptions, theological foundations, and the ethical implications of their methods while invoking harm reduction as a core philosophy. At the center of this model is the recognition that trauma survivors are experts in their own experience, and that healing must center autonomy, agency, self-determination, and consent.

A long-term goal of her research is to address the lack of national standards for trauma-informed care in clinical settings. Because the term remains unregulated and often misused, Healy's work aims to contribute to the eventual codification of trauma-informed training requirements—moving beyond buzzwords toward accountability and oversight.

Formation
Professor Healy is a Master of Divinity candidate at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Her theological education has allowed for a depth of spiritual study through a myriad of consortium schools including Loyola University, Boston University School of Theology, Boston College, Meadville Lombard Theological School, and Chicago Theological Seminary. There, she studied under Dr. Zachary Moon, a leading scholar on moral injury whose work helped to initially catalyze and inspire visioning a different approach to trauma, one that moves away from a medicalized model toward centering the inherent wisdom embedded within survivorship.

She is a continuing participant in Harvard Divinity School's programs through the Office of Religion and Public Life and Global Studies Outreach. Her faith formation draws from multiple streams: she is most literate in Protestant theology, most fluent in Catholic liturgy, and integrates contemplative practice, embodied ritual, reverence for tradition, a heart toward mysticism, and earth-based  elements into her spiritual life. She describes herself as a seeker, uplifting the words of Rev. Joy Fallon: "Saint or sinner, seeker or skeptic—all are welcome here." Healy is receptive to a variety of traditions, centering the search for truth as what is most deeply important.

Service
As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (2010–2012), Healy served for two years in a small village in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, teaching English as a Foreign Language at a school for the performing arts. This experience shaped her commitment to cross-cultural education and her understanding of how healing happens in community.

She is certified in countering domestic violence advocacy and serves as a grief and trauma response professional trained through the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. She has served as a pastoral care provider in her communities and continues to companion others through difficult seasons of life.

Healy is a proud resident of Chicago, Illinois, an ever-present Bostonian-at-a-distance, and a partial-year resident of Portugal, where she is planting seeds for beloved community to bloom. Her philosophy of care is rooted in empathic presence: the conviction that people are not pathologies, and that consent is central to witness as "with-ness" in companioning those who have been harmed. 

She believes that healing is among the most meaningful work we will ever be called to do.