KC Wagner

KC  Wagner, is an Emerita Outreach Faculty member, at Cornell University ILR's Worker Institute, where she held the position of the Director of Equity and Workplace Issues until July 1, 2026. 

For over four decades, KC has been an innovative organizer, practitioner, advocate, adult educator, program development, collaborator and applied researcher, KC Wagner centered worker and survivor voice, incorporating intersectional and language justice lens, in the areas of sexual harassment prevention, gender bias and gender- based violence in all sectors of the workplace. KC utilized participatory techniques to create customized curriculum and cultural audits to promote workplace equity. She created a model for a participatory cultural audit and educational needs assessment for workplace equity initiatives. Clients have included public and private sector employers, unions and worker centers in variety of workplace settings; areas include higher education, fire service, health, service sector, construction and arts and entertainment. 

KC was an expert witness in landmark Title VII court and judicial proceedings, in federal, state and city employment discrimination cases. Topics have included the scope and range of what behaviors constitutes sexual harassment, common coping strategies utilized by victims of harassment and what responsible employers should do to prevent sexual harassment. Ms. Wagner also provided educational coaching to employees as part of an employer’s corrective action intervention.

KC testified in and was part of Duty of Fair Representation (DFR) settlement agreements and arbitration proceedings. KC customized workplace educational initiative in Duty of Fair Representation and Title VII settlement agreements for a variety of private and public sector unions.  

KC appeared on "PBS Channel 13", “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, “The CBS Morning News”, “The Today Show”, “CNN National Cable Network News” and interviewed for articles in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Applied Research Experience and Reports:

Lenmark, Michael, Campos-Medina, Patricia, West, Zoë and Wagner, KC. (2025) Racial Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Intimate Partner Violence and the Workplace: Results from the 2024 Empire State Poll. Worker Institute Policy Brief. September.

West, Zoë, Weaver, Russell, and Wagner, KC.(2022) Unvarnished: Precarity and Poor Working Conditions for Nail Salon Workers in New York State, Report, The Worker Institute, ILR School, Cornell University.

Pinto, Sanjay, Campos-Medina, Patricia, Mabud, Rakeen and Wanger, KC. (2021) Seizing The Moment to Make Our Care Systems More Equitable. The Gender Policy Report. May.

Pinto, Sanjay, West, Zoë, and Wagner, KC. 2021 Healing into Power: An Approach for Confronting Workplace Sexual Violence; New Labor Forum. 30(2):42-52.

Pinto, Sanjay, Wagner, KC, Weaver, Russell, West, Zoë. (2021). A High Road for Home Care: Program Assessment of the Healthcare Workers Rising Transportation Pilot, Research brief, Healthcare Workers Rising and The Worker Institute, ILR School, Cornell University.

West Zoë, Pinto, Sanjay, and Wagner, KC. (2020). Sweeping Change: Building Survivor and Worker Leadership to Confront Sexual Harassment in the Janitorial Industry. Report. Worker Institute, ILR School, Cornell University

Pinto, Sanjay, Wagner, KC, and West, Zoë West (2019). Stopping Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Empire State: Past, Present, and a Possible Future; The Worker Institute, ILR School, Cornell University.

Livingston, Wagner, et. al. (2012). The Experience of Being Targets of Street Harassment in NYC: Preliminary Findings from a Qualitative Study of a Sample of 223 voices who Hollaback! (monograph)

Wagner, Livingston, et. al. (2012). When Street Harassment Comes Indoors: A sample of New York City service agencies and unions response to complaints of street harassment. (monograph)

Wagner, Yates, Walcott (2010). Engaging Men and Women as Allies: A case study of a labor/management initiative that addresses the connection and consequences between domestic violence, male bullying and workplace violence and imparts skills for ally behaviors. Work 42 (2012) 107- 113.

Wagner, King, Dolan & Mazurkiewicz (2010). Working Parents for a Working New York. (research monograph)

Miller, Grabelsky, Wagner (2010). Psychosocial Capacity Building in New York: Building resiliency with construction workers assigned to Ground Zero after 9/11. Social Work with Groups, 33:23-40 .

Grants and Other Supports:

Principal investigator for the Worker Institute’s New York State DOL funds on workplace and sexual harassment prevention and intimate partner violence as a community, union and workplace issue (1996-2024)

Consortium for Worker Education on a Working Parents for Working New York Study. Oversaw a $60,000 project with funds from the New York City Council for 169 families.(2010)

Consortium for Worker Education: WE RISE: Nanny Training of Trainers Program. Oversaw over $75,000 for an adult continuing education, peer to peer program for nannies who are domestic workers in WE RISE program with NYS DOE funds.

FEMA: Oversaw a 6.5k grant post 9-11 for New York building and construction trade workers including the coordination of clinically focused PTSD worker centered, union co-sponsored educational debriefings in three languages (English, Spanish, Polish).(2001)

Awards and Recognitions:

Received a Proclamation from the Office of the Commissioner, New York State Department of Labor in recognition of the dedicated service and accomplishments as the Director of Equity and Workplace Issues, Workplace Institute, Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. (2026)

Individual Efforts in Organizational Recognition for Ending Violence Against Women, NYC Chapter of US National Committee for UN Women. (2013)

Alice H. Cook and Constance E. Cook Award from Cornell University’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women for her work on women’s issues (April 2000).

Thirty influential leaders across the state in the area of domestic violence prevention for innovative workplace initiatives, New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. (2008)