Kandyce Fernandez Sawyer

At Johns Hopkins, Kandyce Fernandez Sawyer is the Associate Program Director and senior lecturer for the MA Non-Profit Management program.

Fernandez’s teaching and expertise in the non-profit sector include philanthropy and foundations, advocacy and the policy process, civic health and engagement, and program evaluation. Her research addresses the interactions that take place among communities and organizations across sectors, with a focus on civic health in the non-profit sector. Her most recent publications include How a Nonprofitness Orientation Influences Collective Civic Action: The effects of Civic Engagement and Political Participation and the forthcoming article, “Rethinking Change: Complexity Theory and its Application to Human Service Nonprofits.”

She was formerly an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, a manager of supplier diversity at the Houston Independent Schools District, and a third-grade teacher in Broward County, Florida. Outside of her professional life, she has volunteered as a CASA and other roles in working with youth in foster care. She currently serves on the boards of two local non-profits, Civance, a nonprofit research firm based in Houston, Texas and the Center for Program Evaluation and Research in San Antonio, Texas.

Fernandez has a Master’s degree in Public Service and Administration from Texas A&M University, and a PhD in Public Administration and Policy from Arizona State University.