Patrick O’Shea, Ph.D.

Patrick O’Shea is a Principal Researcher at FrameWorks Institute. Prior to joining FrameWorks, he worked as the research and narrative strategist at the National Immigration Law Center where he led research, narrative change, and storytelling initiatives. In this role, he designed and led applied research and ethical storytelling projects to ground advocacy and communications in the voices and experiences of immigrants and their families in the United States. Whether in academics or advocacy, his research explores ideas of race, class, nation, and belonging through a cultural examination of personal, historical, political, and public narratives. In past research, Patrick’s work focused on the relationship between narratives of personal and national experience with migration and revolution across generations of contemporary Cuban culture. He has lived, taught, and conducted research in a variety of countries including Mexico, Japan, Cuba, Chile, England, and the United States. Before embarking on a career in research and advocacy, Patrick began his professional life as a public school teacher in his hometown of Denver, Colorado. Over the years, he has taught at every level and with a diverse array of students, from Spanish-speaking kindergarten, to distance learning programs, to vocational high school, to adult language learners, to undergraduate and graduate courses on translation, culture, and revolution. Patrick holds a BA in Political Science and a Master’s in Social Sciences from the University of Colorado, and a Ph.D. in Latin American Cultural Studies from the University of Manchester (UK). After his doctoral studies, he received the Mellon/ACLS Public Fellowship to pursue a career in the non-profit sector.