Scholars Share: Conversations on Graduate Student Research, a partnership between the Graduate College and Graduate Student Association (GSA), is an opportunity for current graduate students from across Drexel's colleges and schools, as well as postdocs and recent alumni, to come together to share their research endeavors and student experience moderated by a student leader and peer who facilitates questions and discussion from the audience.

For more information about Scholars Share and to sign up to present, visit the Scholars Share: Conversations on Graduate Student Research main page.

In celebration and recognition of Black History Month, the Graduate College and Graduate Student Association are proud to partner with the Center for Black Culture to offer our February Scholars Share program which will honor and feature Black excellence, including members of our Black graduate and professional community and research topics related to Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). 

Celebrating Black Excellence Scholars Share Event

Friday, February 10, 2023
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST

Virtual via Zoom

Watch the Recording [Drexel Streams]

Download Event Flyer [PDF]

Featured Speakers:

Kelly Wallace-Baxter, MA-CMHC (He/Him/His)

Doctor of Couple and Family Therapy (DCFT)
College of Nursing and Health Professions

Implementing structural change to increase inclusiveness of Queer Affirming curriculum in Couples/Marriage and Family Therapy Programs

Description: Presently, there is limited literature that demonstrates the impact of reduced LGBTQIA+ affirming curriculum in couple/marriage and family therapy (C/MFT) programs. Current literature has showcased that C/MFT programs should incorporate LGBTQIA+ affirming curriculum while simultaneously assessing faculty’s beliefs and biases towards the LGBTQIA+ community. However, what is routinely being missed is the lack of education on theory and practice students receive on the queer community and the impact this has on their experience in training and practice when rendering mental health services. For example, reportedly some of the common errors in practice have included: assumptions, language/terminology, and gatekeeping. Therefore, to reduce these and other mistakes in treatment, students need to receive adequate knowledge and skills to effectively work with the queer community. Specifically, from a systemic framework to address the historical and social constructs that sustain oppression. This presentation will discuss how the limited curriculum in C/MFT programs have contributed to underequipped clinicians entering the field with limited knowledge and training to effectively work with the queer community. Additionally, highlighting the importance of including queer affirming curriculum to promote the standards of diversity and equity in the field of C/MFT. 

Bio: Kelly is a native of Prince George's County, Maryland. He is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the Department of Counseling and Family Therapy. His degree is in Couples & Family Therapy. He holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Bowie State University. He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate from Northcentral University in Marriage and Family Therapy. He has worked as an adjunct instructor in both marriage and family therapy and counselor education programs. He is also a pre-licensed marriage and family therapist. Kelly serves as a mentor, consultant, and trainer in numerous capacities. He has shared his expertise with various agencies and organizations. For example, he presented at the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. His workshop was entitled: “Constricting of Transgender and Gender non-conforming (TGNC) Communities in Clinical Practice”. He explores the intersectionality of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities and how historical and systemic structures have sustained discrimination in both clinical practice and academic settings.

Neisha Terry Young (She/Her/Hers)

PhD Program in Education Leadership and Policy
School of Education

Literacy Research and Black Caribbean Immigrant Youth

Description: This study explores the ways in which researchers have conceptualized and studied the literacy practices of Black Caribbean immigrant youth over the past decade. It is important to explore this question because research has demonstrated that literacy practices are useful in navigating identity construction for immigrant youth. Additionally, perceptions of Black Caribbean immigrant youth's literacy practices are used to position immigrant youth in academic spaces. The findings reveal that though the conceptualizations of Black Caribbean immigrant youth literacies have expanded over the years, there is still much room for research, with only a nominal body of researchers engaging in work in this area.

Bio: Neisha Terry (Young) is a student in the Ph.D. in Education Policy and Leadership program at the School of Education. She is an immigrant citizen, originally from Jamaica, and she has over 17 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in the K-12 education system. Her research centers around questions related to identity within the Black diaspora, specifically focusing on Black immigrant youth identity navigation.

Tiffany M. Eaton, DrPHc, MPH

DrPH Program in Community Health and Prevention
Dornsife School of Public Health

An Exploration of the Role of Socioeconomic and Sociocultural Influences on Weight Management in Black Women

Description: Obesity is a widely studied area, yet racial/ethnic, gender and socioeconomic disparities persist. One population subgroup that is consistently affected are non-Hispanic Black women, with a prevalence rate significantly higher than the national average. This dissertation research will explore the ways in which socioeconomically diverse Black women approach weight management. Findings will be used to identify critical gaps in the existing literature, inform the future design and implementation of interventions tailored to Black women, and provide insights on how to help improve health outcomes for Black women in Philadelphia with implications for Black women in similar contexts.

Bio: Tiffany Eaton is a DrPH candidate in the Department of Community Health and Prevention at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University. She is currently a graduate research assistant for the Council on Black Health and is the Core Manager for the Solutions to Diabetes in Black Americans Core at the Center for Diabetes Translation Research at Washington University in St Louis. Tiffany received her B.S. in Biology at Spelman College, and her MPH in Community Health Sciences at the SUNY Downstate School of Public Health. She has experience with clinical research, community-engaged research and qualitative research. Her research and practice interests include contextual factors and sociocultural influences on obesity and weight management in Black women, targeted marketing of food and beverages to Black adults and youth, food insecurity, actionable strategies to achieve health equity, and program monitoring and evaluation. In 2019, Tiffany was one of the founding executive board members of The DrPH Coalition, a non-profit organization established to create a collaborative community of DrPH students and alumni from DrPH programs across the country; and in her role as the Director of Communications (2019-2022), she was involved with member engagement and communications, policy statement development, organizing DrPH-focused career development and social networking events, and curating DrPH-focused content and resources.

Moderator:

Monét Harbison, M.S. Edu

Associate Director, Research Compliance Operations, Deputy Research Integrity Officer, Office of Research & Innovation

PhD Program in Educational Policy & Leadership
School of Education

Bio: Monét Harbison was born in West Philly, a stone’s throw from Drexel’s campus. In fact, her first experience with higher education came in the form of a summer program for middle school students at Drexel University. Seeing the positive and negative impacts of predominately white institutions in predominately minority and lower socioeconomic status communities really shaped her philosophy on diversity, equity, education, and access. Monét is a 2nd year PhD student and a research assistant in the Reframing Outcomes Through Afro-Centric Research (R.O.A.R) lab. Her faculty mentors are Ebony White, PhD and Christopher Wright, PhD — both of whom she credits for constantly pushing her in her doctoral journey. Currently, Monét serves as leader of research compliance, integrity, and security in the Office of Research and Innovation and as interim research integrity officer for the University.

After the murder of George Floyd, Monét realized that there was a real need to have conversations centering on diversity, equity, inclusion, and access within the Drexel community. This idea led to the creation of the ORI Diversity Dialogue series, where Monét and her colleagues led authentic conversations about allyship, power, privilege, and intersectionality, especially as it relates to Drexel’s place and responsibility in Philadelphia. Additionally, Monét has given talks on the impacts of gender and racial bias in executing compliance requirements and serves as a thought leader on the topic of research security. Monét is very active within the Drexel community; she served on two committees within the Anti-Racism Task Force, is currently a vice president for the Black Employees at Drexel (BEAD) colleague resource group, is a member of the Graduate Diversity Advisory Council, created and chairs the Black. Ed. Journal club and is a part of the DL 2020 leadership cohort for this year. Monét believes that above all, the way to disassemble silos and create a welcome community is through education and collaboration.