Meet Our Scholars

Kylie Waddy was born and grew up on the Southside of Chicago, but spent most summers of her childhood among the hills of Buckingham, Virginia. In 2001, she enrolled at Whitney Young Magnet High School; one of Chicago'’s premier public secondary institutions. Kylie pursued studies in linguistics and pre-law at New York University and earned her B.A. in 2009. Three years later, Kylie earned her M.S.W from the same institution. While at Yale, she will focus her studies on economics, operations and venture capital in emerging markets. Since 2012, Kylie has worked as a psychotherapist at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York City. Over 95% of Kylie’s clients identify along the LGBT spectrum. In addition to providing therapeutic services for survivors of various forms of trauma and anti-LGBT marginalization, Kylie facilitates two weekly support groups for women of trans experience. Kylie has also worked in various capacities with the LGBTQ community in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Outside of work, Kylie is deeply passionate about saris, salwar kameez and other garments native to the Indian subcontinent. This passion has inspired her to design her first business,– 'Urban Sari,'– which will bring saris to non-traditional markets in the U.S. Her enterprise will also help Indian handweavers stay competitive by offering them novel means to reach untapped markets.