Leah Gose

Leah E. Gose is a postdoctoral scholar (2025-2026) and incoming assistant professor of sociology (starting Fall 2026). Dr. Gose’s research focuses on community and nonprofit organizations, civic organizations, poverty, and social inequality. She is currently writing a book on the role food pantries and other charitable food organizations play as civic organizations, shaping how people understand community, build relationship with their neighbors, and participate in civic life. She has previously published on grassroots resistance groups that formed after the 2016 election and the role of routine, joint tasks in influencing how people build interpersonal network connections in organizational settings.

She holds an affiliation with USC’s Equity Research Institute (ERI). Prior to her time at USC, Dr. Gose completed her MA and PhD in sociology at Harvard University. She holds a BA in Sociology and German Language (with a minor in poverty and human capabilities studies) from Washington and Lee University.