Jas M. Sullivan - African American Identity: Racial and Cultural Dimensions of the Black Experience

Keena Arbuthnot, PhD, is an assistant professor at Louisiana State University in the Department of Educational Theory, Policy and Practice. She received her PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, specializing in Psychometrics/Educational Measurement, Applied Statistics and Program Evaluation. Prior to working at Louisiana State University, Dr. Arbuthnot held a dual appointment as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Lecturer on Education at Harvard University. She conducts research that addresses issues related to the Black-White achievement gap, differential item functioning, psychological factors related to standardized test performance, stereotype threat, test fairness, and mathematical achievement.

Meeta Banerjee is a doctoral candidate in the Ecological-Community Psychology program at Michigan State University. Her research focuses on parenting processes in African American families such as racial/ethnic socialization in different ecological contexts such as families, schools, and communities.

Marco J. Barker, PhD, serves as the assistant to the vice provost and director of educational equity for Equity, Diversity and Community Outreach at Louisiana State University. His area of research includes diversity, doctoral education, cross-cultural developmental relationships, mentoring, service-learning, and leadership in higher education. Dr. Barker received his PhD in Educational Leadership and Research with an emphasis in Higher Education from Louisiana State University.

Cathryn D. Blue is a doctoral candidate in the area of Experimental Social Psychology at Saint Louis University. She received her masters of science (Research) from SLU. Cathryns research interests include racial identity and time orientation.

Christy M. Byrd is a doctoral candidate in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology at the University of Michigan. Her research interests focus on the impact of school racial climate on adolescent academic achievement and development. She is also interested in how racial identity and racial attitudes are implicated in the impact of climate on youth outcomes.

Cleopatra Howard Caldwell, PhD, is an associate professor of Health Behavior and Health Education at the School of Public Health and the director of the Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health at the University of Michigan. Her research and publications focus on psychosocial and family factors as influences on the mental health and health risk behaviors of African American and Caribbean Black adolescents, intergenerational family relationships and early childbearing, discrimination, racial identity, and adolescent well-being, research with Black churches, and intervention research using community-based participatory research approaches.

Tabbye M. Chavous, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Education and the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. Her primary research interests and activities involve ethnic minority adolescent development, with an emphasis on social identity processes related to academic and psychological adjustment outcomes among adolescents and emerging adults. Additionally, her work focuses on the influence of educational contexts (teacher-student classroom interactions, organizational climate, and peer interactions) on the academic and social development of youth in secondary and post-secondary settings.

Eddie M. Clark, PhD, is a professor of psychology at Saint Louis University (SLU). His research examines health attitudes and persuasion, especially culturally appropriate health communication, and the relationship between religiosity and health. His research also examines close relationships including infidelity, relationship maintenance, and ex-partner relationships. He received his bachelors degree in psychology from Northwestern University and his masters and doctorate in social psychology from Ohio State University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in behavioral medicine at the University of Memphis, where he was also a faculty member. He has been at SLU since 1991.

William E. Cross, Jr., PhD, is professor and coordinator of Graduate Studies in the Department of Counselor Education, School of Education, at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. He has been a major contributor to the discourse on African American identity across a thirty-five year career in the academy.

Michael Cunningham, PhD, is an associate professor with a joint appointment in Psychology and African and African Diaspora Studies at Tulane University, as well as the founding executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching, which is a division of Academic Affairs. His research focuses on adolescent development with a particular focus on gender-specific patterns. He received his doctorate from Emory University after completing undergraduate studies at Morehouse College. He also completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael J. Cuyjet, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology at the University of Louisville, teaching and serving as program coordinator in the College Student Personnel Program. Among his recent publications, he edited and co-authored the 2006 book African American Men in College and was both editor and an author of the 2011 book Multiculturalism on Campus: Theories, Models, and Practices for Understanding Diversity and Creating Inclusion. Dr. Cuyjet received a bachelors degree in Speech Communications from Bradley University and a masters degree in Counseling and a doctorate in Counselor Education from Northern Illinois University. In 2006, he was named a Diamond Honoree by the ACPA Educational Leadership Foundation. In 2009, he was named one of ACPAs Senior Scholars, and in 2011 he was named a Pillar of the Profession by NASPA.

E. Hill De Loney, MA, is the director of the Flint Odyssey House in Flint, Michigan. Mrs. De Loney, psychologist, was the Community Co-Principal Investigator of the Flint Fathers and Sons Project. She has extensive experience as a community-based participatory researcher, community organizer, and program developer, especially for youth programming. Mrs. De Loney is an expert in cultural competence in working with African American communities and families. She conducts cultural awareness trainings and workshops throughout the nation.

Corinn A. Elmore is a doctoral candidate at Loyola University Chicago in the clinical psychology department where she is in the child/family subspecialty. She also holds a degree in marital and family therapy from Northwestern University. Her research is broadly focused on positive minority youth development and has included such topics as parenting, racial socialization, culturally relevant coping processes, and racial identity.

Alexandra Z. Ghara is a graduate student in political science at Louisiana State University. She specializes in racial and ethnic politics with a concentration in political psychology. Her research interests include racial and ethnic identity, group conflict, political communication, and implicit cognition.

Bruce Ormond Grant,PhD, is an independent scholar who currently resides in New York City. Dr. Grant holds a Ph.D. in African Studies and Research from Howard University; his research interests are African and African American development over the life span.

Lauren Gray is a special education teacher in Irving, Texas. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan. While at the Michigan, she majored in psychology and collaborated with several research teams, including the Gender, Ethnicity, and Depression team, the Detroit Initiative, and the Center for the Study of Black Youth in Context.