Dr. B is Revolutionizing Mental Health

Hi! I am passionate about rectifying racial health injustices and improving life trajectories for individuals and communities of color using interdisciplinary, translational research. We all have light and the world’s optimization is contingent upon the realization and expression of our brilliance.

I am a psychologist, innovator, and the developer of the Black Matrescence psychological construct, a data-driven model examining racialized experience of becoming a mother as a Black woman. I am also a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health and Social Medicine at CUNY School of Medicine.

Social justice for marginalized populations lays at the foundation of my passions and I strive to provide the community with the understanding and tactics to combat anti-Black discrimination and invoke systems level change. My goal is to develop, foster, and facilitate resilience and liberation in oppressed peoples and serve as a lifetime advocate for those without a voice by revolutionizing mental health research, discussion, and service delivery. I believe in the beauty and brilliance of Black and Brown minds and see it as my purposeful mission to liberate my people so that they may radiate in pursuit of their God given purpose.

Alongside my work on Black matrescence, I develop and study movement-based interventions for maternal and community mental health, work grounded in meeting people where they already are rather than asking them to come to me. My community-based physical activity work in Harlem is built on a simple belief: communities already hold the solutions they're looking for. My role is to help surface those solutions through innovation and connection, designing interventions that actually work because they were shaped with the people they're meant to serve, not handed down to them.

Creating our legacies together threaded through love, guided by faith and infused with purpose & passion

My experiences have allowed me to develop as an experienced leader, researcher, and community advocate for underserved populations. My interests are in exploring the intersections between mental health and social determinants as they relate to discrimination and systemic inequalities such as incarceration and education.

A strong believer in actionable research, I see myself at the forefront of social reform via the use of evidence-based research to inform public policy, develop culturally-responsive community programs, and empower the public through artistry and innovation, media, and literature. While I don't know exactly how I will do all of this, I know that as I climb, I must build for my community.