I hold a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Toronto.

I am a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Simon Fraser University and Sessional Faculty in the School of Culture, Media, and Society at the University of the Fraser Valley. I previously taught across the St. George, Mississauga, and Scarborough campuses at the University of Toronto.

I teach broadly in sociology, with a special focus on the sociology of families, family policy, sexualities, and gender, but also research methods, sociological theory, and the philosophy of social science. I also integrate historical and political economic analyses of race and class into my teaching.

My sociological practice bridges research, teaching, tutoring, mentorship, consulting, and public engagement. While my work is grounded in rigorous academic scholarship and the classroom, I believe sociology should also have practical value beyond the university. Through this practice, I support students, educators, organizations, and prospective parents by translating sociological research into meaningful learning, informed decision-making, and practical action.

Within this broader practice, my research focuses on 2SLGBTQI+ parenthood, families, and communities in Canada, particularly male co-parents. It has been published in scholarly journals like the Canadian Review of Sociology and LGBTQ+ Family: An Interdisciplinary Journal. My work also appears in scholarly books like The Routledge Companion on Gender and Fatherhood and Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities.

My research shows that the journey to queer fatherhood can be complex, costly, and hard to control. Legal systems, institutions, and policies often make the process more difficult than it should be. At the heart of my work is a focus on the profound commitment that Canadian gay men bring to their roles as fathers as they pave the way for future generations of primary caregiving co-fathers.

My sociological practice is also informed by personal experience. My husband and I spent more than five years pursuing gestational surrogacy, investing significant emotional and financial resources in the process. Our final attempt ended in the devastating loss of our baby. Soon afterward, however, we were asked to become the parents of a young boy. Through adoption processes involving child protection systems in both Ontario and British Columbia, we ultimately became the family we had long hoped for.

These experiences deepened my sociological interest in queer families, reproductive inequality, and the uneven realities of family formation in Canada. As both a sociologist and a parent, I seek to bring lived experience and scholarly analysis into conversation while remaining committed to rigorous, evidence-based research, public scholarship, and the practical application of sociological knowledge.

Research Areas

Sociology of Families; Family Policy; Sociology of Gender and Sexualities; Social Inequality; the Political Economy of Race, Class and Gender; Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Current Projects

The Parental Regime in Canada

• Theorizing the parental regime in Canada as it relates to gay fathers’ experience of parenthood (with Dr. Melanie Heath)

Continuity and Innovation in Canadian Families

• Development of a Canadian sociology of families textbook that compiles empirical research and theoretical perspectives to investigate how families are shaped by broader social forces while also changing in response to structural inequalities and social policies (with Dr. Amber Gazso).

Scholarship on Teaching and Learning

• A qualitative examination of student engagement and assessments in the age of A.I. (with Dr. Lance Stewart)

Autoethnography of Becoming Parents

• Investigation of the Underwoods’ personal journey to queer parenthood, involving the death of a baby in gestational surrogacy, significant financial loss, and the successful adoption of a son.

The Gay Dads Blueprint

• Based on a decade of experience navigating and researching the Canadian surrogacy and adoption systems, Underwood is developing a community course that aims to support prospective and intended gay fathers as they make decisions about co-parenting, foster care, public and private adoption, and traditional and gestational surrogacy.