SCHOLARSHIP IN BLOOM™️ / ACADEMIC PORTFOLIO
Educating for Equity. Mentoring with Intention. Teaching Toward Liberation.
THE SCHOLAR BEHIND THE WORK
My academic journey is shaped by social work practice, classroom teaching, mentorship, and a commitment to justice-centered inquiry.
“Education should prepare us not only to enter institutions, but to recognize where those institutions must change.”
THE SCHOLAR-EDUCATOR
Education is more than the transmission of knowledge. It is an opportunity to challenge assumptions, cultivate critical consciousness, and prepare emerging professionals to recognize, question, and transform inequitable systems.
As a justice-centered scholar, educator, practitioner, and mentor, I bring together academic scholarship, professional leadership, field education, and lived experience to create learning opportunities grounded in inquiry, reflection, and social responsibility.
My commitment to education extends beyond what students learn. It encompasses how they learn, whose knowledge is recognized, and how they apply that knowledge in service of individuals, families, communities, and institutions.
This Work Is Liberation.
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY
My academic teaching experience includes SWK 845: Diversity, Inclusion, and Implicit Bias, where students examine how bias, identity, institutional expectations, and structural inequities influence professional practice.
My instructional approach emphasizes critical reflection, scholarly dialogue, ethical responsibility, and the integration of theory with real-world professional experiences.
GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY
I support undergraduate and graduate social work students as they navigate the transition from classroom learning to supervised professional practice, collaborating with students, field instructors, and agency partners to monitor practicum progress and support professional development.
As of October 2026, my active field liaison portfolio includes 18 students: 14 MSW and 4 BSW students. I regard field education as essential professional formation, where academic knowledge, ethical reasoning, and practice competencies intersect.
PRACTICE & DEVELOPMENT
My commitment to professional education spans university instruction, graduate supervision, workforce development, and organizational leadership. I have supervised 17 graduate-level trainees, supporting their development through practice-based learning, constructive feedback, ethical reflection, and professional mentorship.
My background also includes approximately 15 years in child welfare training and consulting, including curriculum development, training facilitation, and workforce education. These experiences strengthen my ability to connect scholarship with the organizational realities practitioners encounter.
THE TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Teaching is an act of intellectual responsibility and an opportunity to advance justice.
I believe students deserve educational environments that are rigorous, inclusive, challenging, and responsive to the diverse experiences they bring into the classroom.
Encouraging students to question dominant assumptions, engage multiple perspectives, and understand how history, policy, culture, and power shape professional practice.
Supporting the translation of scholarly knowledge into ethical decision-making, reflective practice, and meaningful professional engagement.
Creating opportunities to examine structural inequities, recognize professional responsibilities, and envision more equitable institutions and communities.
I do not view education as simply preparing students to function within existing systems. It should also prepare them to question those systems, identify opportunities for transformation, and recognize their capacity to contribute to meaningful change.
RELATIONSHIPS THAT CULTIVATE GROWTH
Through Long Island University's doctoral near-peer mentorship initiative, I support emerging doctoral scholars as they navigate academic expectations, scholarly identity formation, and professional growth.
My mentorship philosophy emphasizes reciprocity, encouragement, accountability, and intellectual community. Mentorship can help emerging scholars develop their own voices, recognize their strengths, and build confidence in their contributions to scholarship and practice.
RESEARCH IN CONVERSATION WITH TEACHING
My scholarly interests examine intersections of race, gender, identity, policy, professionalism, and institutional power.
My doctoral dissertation, The CROWN Act and Its Impact on the Lived Experiences of Black Women Who Wear Their Natural Hair, explores legal protections, workplace expectations, and Black women's experiences within institutional environments.
My research draws primarily on Critical Race Theory and Ecological Systems Theory, while engaging Black Feminist Thought in examining cultural identity, self-definition, and resistance. These perspectives inform my understanding of how educational environments can reproduce inequities or create opportunities to interrogate them.
Through Scholarship in Bloom™️, I extend conversations about research, policy, justice, and institutional change beyond traditional academic settings.
Explore my research →THE CLASSROOM & BEYOND
My continuing academic development includes pursuing formal study in Black Women's Studies, Africana Studies, and Black Feminist Thought, with the long-term goal of developing interdisciplinary curricular contributions grounded in rigorous scholarship and foundational study.
SCHOLARSHIP IN THE CLASSROOM
SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY • OCTOBER 1, 2026
Delivered a virtual guest lecture exploring policy, identity, professionalism, bias, and their implications for social work practice. The engagement connected scholarship with graduate social work education and invited critical discussion of institutional expectations and professional responsibility.
Explore the guest lecture and presentation materials →THE PURPOSE BEHIND THE PRACTICE
My academic work is guided by a belief that scholarship carries responsibility. Knowledge should not remain confined to classrooms, journals, or conferences. It should inform practice, strengthen communities, challenge inequities, and contribute to more just institutions.
Rooted in community. Crowned by purpose.
CONNECT & COLLABORATE
Scholarship grows through inquiry. Education thrives through connection. I welcome teaching opportunities, guest lectures, field education partnerships, curriculum collaborations, and scholarly conversations grounded in equity and social justice.
Rooted in community. Crowned by purpose.