I earned a Ph.D. in African Diaspora Studies with emphasis on public policy, gender, women and sexuality studies from the University of California, Berkeley in addition to an M.A. in African American Studies (UC Berkeley), an M.A. in political science (Boston University), a B.A. cum laude in international studies (York College of Pennsylvania), and an Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management. I am a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and I was a Ford Foundation Fellow, Rotary Ambassadorial Fellow, Fulbright Scholar, Harvard University Administrative Fellow, and American Field Service high school foreign exchange student.

Post-Graduate Focus: Asia (travel & research), 2018-21: Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos; Marion & Jasper Whiting Foundation; 2003: China’s Investment in Africa; Fulbright Fellowship (declined); 2000: Tokyo, Japan, summer internship; Japan-US Community Education and Exchange (JUCEE)

Regional Expertise: US, North Africa, Horn of Africa & Southeast Asia

Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI), 2024: Certificate in Diversity & Inclusion in Human Resources Management; Certificate in Leadership; Certificate in Human Resource Skills; Certificate in Sustainable Management & Corporate Responsibility (in progress)*

Brown University, 2024: Certificate in Applied Inclusive Leadership

Racial Equity Leadership Institute, 2023: Certificate in Driving Racial Equity in Education

Accountability

Budgeting

Confident Change Manager

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

Excellent Communicator

French: basic speaking & reading

Global Perspective

Google Workspace (Slides, etc.)

Grant Writing & Management

Improving Efficiency

Mentorship Programs

Microsoft Office Suite

Project Planning & Management

Spanish: basic reading

Talent Acquisition

Team Leadership (2 to 50+ people)

Tech Savvy (Zoom, Tableau, Asana, Moodle, Blackboard)

My professional experiences have been wide-ranging. As Chief Access, Diversity, and Fairness Officer (CADFO) for the Massachusetts Trial Court, I oversee the Trial Court’s policies and practices related to access and fairness, diversity, equity, and inclusion for nearly 6,700 employees and countless court users. In my role, I head the Office of Access, Diversity, and Fairness (OADF), which serves as an umbrella over six departments and offices that directly report to me and account for approximately 300 employees and contractors. These departments ensure that court users have access to interpreters, transcripts, ADA accommodations, tangible legal resources and mediation while providing various trainings and collaborating across departments to enrichen the Trial Court workforce’s professional experience.

I am a trained mediator and have well over two decades of experience developing and overseeing strategic plans, projects, and initiatives to promote equitable and inclusive cultures. I have held teaching and administrative positions within academic institutions (MIT, Harvard, Marymount University, New Jersey City University, Providence College and the University of Denver), arts, humanities-focused/grants centered positions at nonprofits (New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, American Academy of Arts and Sciences) as well as served as a leader focused on public policy formation and implementation at the local level (City of Boston), federal level (Department of Homeland Security), and international level, having served as principal advisor on research/Chief of Research Unit to Ambassador Susan Rice, Ambassador Samantha Power, and Ambassador Nikki Haley at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.

My mettle as an executive responsible for budgeting, fundraising, programming and working with board/steering committee members was tested when I led an internationally-affiliated human rights organization advocating for the rights of girls and women (End FGM/C).

At the core of every position I have held is a firm commitment to social justice. This commitment has provided me with the opportunity to gain extensive experience working with conflict-affected populations, refugees, survivors of gender-based violence, and others who have suffered traumatic, oftentimes life-altering events. Some of my experiences include having been trained in refugee law, interviewing techniques and legal testimony writing by the late world-renowned refugee studies expert, Dr. Barbara Harrell-Bond (OBE) and serving as legal advisor to self-represented refugees from across the globe at a legal aid organization in Egypt. I further assisted self-represented litigants (SRLs) with immigration and civil cases in California and Massachusetts through organizations such as the International Rescue Committee and the Somali Development Center.

Whether preparing a displaced person for a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) hearing, or working with multiple interpreters to accurately capture the harm experienced by an asylee as the adjudicating Asylum Officer, or accompanying a newly settled immigrant family to housing court, the need for proper signage, adequate interpreting services, accessible physical spaces and overall cultural sensitivity to make an encounter with an international legal authority, and/or the American judicial system a fair experience for petitioners, litigants and court users has never been lost on me.

Ensuring equality before the law and within legal systems is a strong passion of mine. Yet, I am equally passionate about teaching, mentoring and learning from students. As an instructor, I teach courses centered on international relations, global studies, sociology, ethnic studies and research methods. As an administrator and grant proposal writer, I conduct independent prospect research to identify, apply for, and secure funding. In 2022, working alone, I successfully secured $125,000 in grants within 9 months, including as Principal Investigator for a Social Science Research Council (SSRC)/National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant.

My teaching experience is extensive. I have taught an array of socio-economic, political, history and sociology themed courses to students of all ages in the U.S., Brazil and Egypt at private and public schools, colleges and universities (Providence College; Tufts University; Suffolk University; Wentworth Institute of Technology; Wheelock College; University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies; British School of Alexandria-Egypt; Boston University; Laney College; and Rutgers University—Newark).

My research interests revolve around contemporary and historical public policy formation and analysis (the evolution, history, formation and implementation of policy). I am interested in how policies shape and impact people’s lived experiences, with emphasis on those experiences in urban spaces across time. Examining the personal narratives and life stories of individuals alongside government documents and state-provided information allows me to discover how policies are formulated and implemented across societies.

Employing a combination of archival, qualitative, quantitative and ethnographic research methods enables me to view the effects of policies on individuals and groups (and vice versa) from different vantage points; at the same time, these methods illuminate policy impact on lived environments and reveal place-based narratives, telling the story of geographical spaces. Looking at public policies through the lens of individual lives and personal narratives especially provides me with the opportunity to understand the impact of said policies based on positionality (class, wealth, gender, racial and sexuality). It allows me to uncover mistakes made in the past, and to inform the creation of more sustainable and equitable people-centered policies in the present and future. Moreover, underlying everything that I do is a personal mission to center the lives of people of African descent, and others who have been historically marginalized, within local and global processes.

Comparative policy formation, analysis and impact as they relate to global migration is my chief area of inquiry. In addition, there are four other areas of particular interest to me: 1) diaspora communities; 2) gender equality & equity; 3) international organizations; and 4) foreign policy, particularly diplomacy.

Courses I have taught include: Introduction to Sociology; Gender and Politics; International Relations; Women and Development; Global Migration; Globalization and Human Rights; Comparative Politics; Introduction to Global Studies; World Affairs; Global Governance; Globalization & Social Change; Case Studies in Globalization; Citizenship and National Identities; Research in Global Studies; Migration Narratives; and Environmental Sites & Sacred Geography.

I have particular strengths in teaching and mentoring undergraduates as well as middle and high school-aged (11 to 18) students; I spent 10 rewarding summers working as a teacher and administrator in pre-college programs in New Jersey, Massachusetts and California.

I am proudly a member of the following organizations: International Ombuds Association (IOA), Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), Employee Resource Group (ERG) Leadership Alliance (ELA), National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE), Schomburg Society (Center for Research in Black Culture), Society of Senior Ford Fellows, Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa, Group on International Perspectives on Governmental Aggression and Peace (GIPGAP), and National Association of Presiding Judges & Court Executive Officers (NAPCO). I am also a board member of Humanity & Inclusion (HI) (Handicap International), a nonprofit charity providing humanitarian aid and support to people with disabilities and other populations experiencing conflicts, natural disasters and poverty. Finally, per the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, I am an Appointed Commissioner on the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission (Mass A2J), which strives to achieve equal justice for all persons in the Commonwealth by providing leadership and vision to organizations and persons involved in providing and improving access to justice for those unable to afford counsel.

I frequently serve as a guest lecturer, adjunct faculty, keynote speaker and panelist on an array of topics related to global migration; U.S. immigration history and policy; Black American history; the African Diaspora; and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). I am also available for research and writing projects. My rates are fair and I am open to traveling within the U.S. and abroad.