SRCD Black Caucus Leadership
Chair
Keisha L. Bentley-Edwards, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Duke University
SRCD Black Caucus Chair (2025-2027)
Dr. Keisha Bentley-Edwards is an Associate Professor at Duke University’s School of Medicine, and the Associate Director for the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity. She is the Co-Director of Duke’s CTSA Center for Equity in Research. Dr. Bentley-Edwards’ research investigating the role of structural racism, gender, and culture on health and education has been supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, IBM, and the National Institutes of Health.
Chair-Elect
Valerie Adams-Bass
Assistant Professor, Childhood Studies, Rutgers University
SRCD Black Caucus Chair-Elect
Valerie Adams-Bass is an applied researcher who advances scholarship that provides meaningful contributions to the lives of Black youth and their families. Her research integrates contextual factors with a focus on how Black children see themselves and related outcomes. She is most interested in examining how media exposure influences interpersonal interactions and self-concept. Her research also investigates how racial/ethnic socialization experiences and racial identity are related to the process of identity development and the social and academic experiences of Black children and youth. Dr. Adams-Bass has a special interest in the experience of Black women and girls.
Secretary
Naila Smith
Assistant Professor, University of Virginia
SRCD Black Caucus Secretary
Naila A. Smith is an Assistant Professor of Education in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. She applies cultural-ecological, and strengths-based perspectives to examine the role of sociocultural resources, assets, and risks in the development of marginalized groups, from childhood to emerging adulthood. Dr. Smith has published her work in leading journals such as Child Development, Educational Researcher, and the Journal for Research on Adolescence (JRA). She is a consulting editor at JRA, and reviews regularly for SRCD conferences. Her work has been supported by the Spencer Foundation and the American Association of University Women.
Treasurer
Judith Scott
Assistant Professor, Boston University
SRCD Black Caucus Treasurer
Dr. Judith C. Scott is an Assistant Professor at Boston University School of Social Work. Her research focuses on how trauma (i.e., physical child maltreatment and racism) and protective processes including ethnic-racial socialization, parenting, and coping affect the mental health among children and families across cultures. Her work, which uses community-based participatory approaches, focuses on Black and Asian children and families with consideration of ethnic variation, immigrant experiences, and contexts. She also conducts program evaluations for community organizations serving children of color. Dr. Scott was an inaugural member of the SRCD Black Caucus Social Policy Committee and served for three years.
Member-At-Large
Riana Elyse Anderson
Associate Professor, Columbia University School of Social Work
SRCD Black Caucus Member-At-Large
Dr. Riana Elyse Anderson is a clinical and community psychologist and Associate Professor at Columbia University. Riana was born in, raised for, and returned to Detroit and has been trained in Clinical and Community Psychology at the University of Virginia, Yale University's School of Medicine, and the University of Pennsylvania. Riana studies how racial discrimination impacts the mental health of Black adolescents and their families and develops hands-on therapeutic programs with community partners. Riana shares her knowledge and practice through media, writing, and talks.
Member-At-Large
Amber B. Sansbury
National Poverty Fellow, Institute for Research on Poverty (UW-Madison)
SRCD Black Caucus Member-At-Large
Amber B. Sansbury, Ph.D. is an Evaluation Specialist with Montgomery County Public
Schools (MD). She is excited to bring her policy experience and expertise in evidence-
based decision-making to support children's development, data literacy, and school
improvement at the district level. Dr. Sansbury completed her M.Ed. in Early Childhood
Education Curriculum and Instruction for Diverse Learners and Ph.D. in Education with
a focus on Early Care and Education Policy from George Mason University. As a 2023-
24 National Head Start Dissertation Grant awardee, Dr. Sansbury’s research broadly
centers on preschool expansion, childcare decision-making for Black and immigrant
families, and community-based participatory approaches to family engagement using
advanced qualitative methods. She previously worked as an IRP National Poverty
Fellow and contractor in-residence in the Office of the Chief Data Officer at the Office of
Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE/ACF) during her postdoctoral training.
Early Career Representative
LaRen Morton
SRCD Federal Policy Fellow
SRCD Black Caucus Early-Career Representative
Dr. LaRen Morton is a first-year SRCD federal agency fellow in the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. LaRen holds a B.S. in Family Science from the University of Maryland, College Park in addition to M.S. and Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science. Her research interests surround the importance of equitable and inclusive school environments that promote minoritized students’ academic achievement.
Early Career Representative
Alexandria C. Onuoha
Student, ABD Suffolk University
Current Black Caucus Student Representative
SRCD Black Caucus Early-Career Representative
Alexandria C. Onuoha is a doctoral candidate in applied developmental psychology at Suffolk University. Using theoretical frameworks grounded in psychology and Black studies, she explores Black women and girls’ experiences with intersectional bias such as misogynoir while investigating their cultural gifts to promote positive psychosocial outcomes and policy change. Alexandria’s work draws on Black anti-fascist principles to promote positive developmental strategies for Black children and youth. Her insights have been featured in the Boston Globe, Teen Vogue, Washington Post, and other media outlets. She will be graduating in May.
Early Career Representative
Keiana Mayfield
Assistant Professor, George Mason University
SRCD Black Caucus Early-Career Representative
Dr. Keiana Mayfield is an Assistant Professor at George Mason University in the Department of Social Work in the College of Public Health. She earned a doctorate in the Human Development and Family Studies program at The Pennsylvania State University, a master’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Studies of Women and Gender Studies from the University of Virginia. Her research interests lie at the intersection of child development and sociocultural contextual factors with a specific focus on how families and school contexts influence child and adolescent development.
Student Representative
Raven Ross
Doctoral Student; University of Maryland, Baltimore County
SRCD Black Caucus Student Representative
Raven Ross is a doctoral student in the Community Psychology program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her research examines the promotion of Black youths’ well-being in the face of racism and racism-related stressors. She is particularly interested in understanding how Black youth process, understand and respond to racism-related stressors they encounter in online settings (e.g., social media), including how youth leverage their social support networks to cope with these stressors. Raven aims to conduct community-engaged research with Black youth that centers their expertise and knowledge in the research process while promoting their healthy development and sense of well-being.
Student Representative
KeLa Allen
Doctoral Student, University of Georgia
SRCD Black Caucus Student Representative
KeLa Allen is a fifth-year doctoral student in Human Development and Family Science. She holds an M.S. in Human Development and Family Science from the University of Georgia and a B.S. from the University of Missouri-Columbia in Human Development and Family Science with an emphasis in Child Development and Education. Her research interests specifically focus on how racial discrimination impacts educational outcomes for Black children as well as how it influences Black parental involvement practices. She is also interested in the strengths-based strategies that Black parents employ to maximize their child’s learning when they encounter educational racism.