Vivian Louie is a sociologist who focuses her research on how immigrants and the children of immigrants learn about and engage with the K-16 and graduate educational system in the United States, and develop identities. Her book, Compelled to Excel: Immigration, Education, and Opportunity among Chinese Americans, examines such issues among second generation Chinese Americans. She is presently working on a book manuscript currently titled, Crossing Borders in America: Dominican and Colombian Experiences of Immigration, Education, and Identities.

She is assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and received her A.B. from Harvard University, M.A. in Communication from Stanford University, and Ph.D in Sociology from Yale University. She has previously worked as a newspaper journalist, and a lecturer in Sociology at Harvard. Louie is a native of New York City.