Dr. Kendra Jason

Kendra Jason Ph.D (pronouns: she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor of Sociology and the CLAS Race and Social Justice Advocate at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has a particular interest in the experiences of Black women’s work, health, and caregiving responsibilities. Dr. Jason is also an interdisciplinary health disparities scholar who examines the multi-level factors that may influence the relationship between health and desired workforce participation for older Black workers. Her research on these issues are published in Social Currents, The Journal of Sociology and Social Work, The Gerontologist, Journal of Applied Gerontology, Healthcare Management Review, and Research in the Sociology of Work. Dr. Jason can be reached at kjason@uncc.edu.

Dr. Janaka Bowman Lewis

Janaka Bowman Lewis, Ph.D. (pronouns: she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor of English and Director of the Center for the Study of the New South at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is the author of Freedom Narratives of African American Women (2017), Light and Legacies: Black Girlhood and Stories of Liberation (forthcoming Spring 2023), and three children's books (Brown All Over, Bold Nia Marie Passes the Test, and co-author of Dr. King is Tired, Too!!). A 2021 TEDx UNC Charlotte speaker and author of several chapters and articles on Black women’s identities from motherhood to educational leadership, she is founder of the Vanilla Bowman Foundation for Educational Impact based in Georgia and the Carolinas, serves on the boards of Freedom School Partners (Charlotte, NC) and Rise 2 Thrive Family Resource Center (Concord, NC) and was recognized in 2020 as one of Charlotte Business Journal's “40 Under 40.” Dr. Lewis can be reached at j.lewis@uncc.edu.

Dr. Tehia Starker Glass

Tehia Starker Glass P.hD (pronounced Tee-uh; pronouns: she/her/hers) is the Cato College of Education Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Inclusive Excellence Fellow of Faculty Development in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and an Associate Professor of Elementary Education and Educational Psychology in the Department of Reading and Elementary Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research and publications include preparing preservice and in-service teachers’ culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy, Black motherschooling, and anti-racism in educational settings. Dr. Glass is a TED speaker, CNN Contributor, and co-author of Teaching for Justice and Belonging- A Journey for Educators and Parents. She co-founded and is the co-director of the Anti-Racism Graduate Certificate Program at UNC Charlotte. Dr. Starker Glass can be reached at tehia.glass@uncc.edu.

COMMUNITY LIAISON

Danielle N. Brown (she/her), is the founder of Close-Knit Family Services LLC. Her desire is to provide holistic care to families and individuals that identify as displaced and or currently living in poverty. Her LLC is based on the 3E’s: Enhance. Empower. & Encourage strong family dynamics. Danielle passion is to serve her community. Danielle was born in Newark, N. J. At the age of twelve, she moved to Charlotte N.C. where she was educated in the Charlotte Mecklenburg school system. After graduation, received the prestige’s Maya Angelou Scholarship Award, and attended Bennet College. Danielle graduated 2016 with her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. Continuing to pursue her passion, to help others, Danielle attended Johnson C. Smith University and graduated in 2018 with her Master’s in Social Work.