EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2001, Education : Counselor Education

Changing population trends and the diversification of the United States population have prompted mental health professionals to reevaluate the efficacy of strategies and approaches used in counseling. The heavy focus of research on Blacks of lower socioeconiomic status raises serious questions about generalizing findings to all African Americans without regard for possible intra-racial differences. This study explored whether upwardly-mobile, African American women's satisfaction of counseling methods, counselor ethnicity, and racial composition of counseling group membership was associated with their level of racial identity. One hundred and twenty three African American women completed a survey using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 to rate their anticipated satisfaction of a specifically described counseling service. Participants also completed the Black Racial Identity Research Scale Revised. Results revealed that racial identity did not influence satisfaction on any of the variables investigated. There was a significant difference between anticipated satisfaction with a Black counselor and a White counselor. There were no significant differences between anticipated satisfaction of individual counseling and group counseling or between racially heterogeneous and racially homogeneous counseling group memberships. Findings of this study underscore previous research stating that African Americans prefer same-race counselors. The results also suggest that the type of counseling and composition of counseling groups may not be as salient to African American women as counselor-client racial similarity. Implications of this research suggest that the visual and physical presence of African American counselors within mental health and counseling agencies could make professional counseling more attractive, accessible, and credible for African American women. In addition, counselor-client racial matching may also reverse the underutilization of mental health services (open full item for complete abstract)

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2012, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Educational Studies

The purpose of this study is to depict the personal narrative of African American women as central to understanding how life experiences, gender, race and culture intersect to impact their educational expectations. To establish context, the broader purpose of this study is to understand the belief system and ideologies African Americans as a cultural group associate with education. Cultural group beliefs are important to address as these beliefs may factor into the motivation, efficacy and human agency of African American women who attain graduate degrees.

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2009, Education : Educational Studies

There is an apparent dearth in the leadership literature of African American women when juxtaposed with race, gender and social class. This scarcity appears to be connected with the small percentage of African American women who hold the position of president in institutions of higher education. Additionally, recent reports have noted, that the growth they saw twenty years prior has reached a standstill. This research scoped the range of leadership for African American women presidents, giving them the opportunity to self-define. In addition to self-definition, the study was based on the belief that leadership development happens over a lifetime. Thus, the purpose of this research was to examine what factors contributed to and define the leadership for African American women presidents. Defining and understanding their leadership will lead to greater opportunities in the academy. This study used a qualitative approach that triangulated interviews, biographical questionnaires, and campus observations to gain perspective and insight for the women who participated in this study. The study relied on several frameworks that served as a guide, Black feminist thought, critical race theory, and the Bolman and Deal leadership lens. What the research discovered is that African American women tend to have a different path towards to the presidency than the traditional model. Various events that transpire in an individual's life provided a foundation for their leadership philosophies and ideologies. Furthermore, when given the opportunity to self-define their leadership, they were incongruent with research that indicates women including African American women identify with a transformational leadership model. Lastly, race, gender, and class have had some affect on the African American women who participated in this study. The findings in this study can be used by institutions to develop leadership programs that are tailored to the needs of African American women desiring to ho (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2008, Curriculum and Instruction (Education)

This exploratory and descriptive study illuminates the lives of African American female teachers who lived in the upper Ohio River Valley between 1875 and 1915. Existing current research depicts teachers in the South and urban North during this period. This study highlights teachers from northern, small to midsized cities in order to bring them into the historical record and direct attention to their contributions to education. The focus of this historical, intrinsic, embedded, single-case case study was on the social profile, educational opportunities, teaching experiences, and support networks of Pocahontas Simmons Peyton, Susie Simmons (Jones?), Bernadine Peyton Sherman, Mary Peyton Dyson, Anna Stevens Posey, and Elizabeth Jennie Adams Carter. Three additional themes emerged from the data. They involved inconsistent community attitudes, male-defined perspectives, and multigenerational connections and successes.The case for this study was bounded by time, place, race, gender, and occupation. The units of analysis were selected from a pool of 27 names using the maximum-variation purposeful sampling method. The central research question asked how the women operated within the educational systems of the three-state area of western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, and southeastern Ohio. The researcher employed multiple methods of data collection in order to triangulate the data and provide rich description of the women within the context of the bounded system. The findings suggest that these women were part of a tradition of exemplary service to education. Although they were unique, these women shared characteristics with teachers in other areas of the country. With one exception, they worked in segregated schools with poor to adequate resources. Each woman had a range of educational options open to her, but not all options were available in each location. The women were skilled at using support networks and their own abilities to navigate within the educational (open full item for complete abstract)

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2016, Antioch New England: Clinical Psychology

In today's society, an accurate representation of female minority leadership is needed. This study explored the (a) leadership development of African American women, (b) means and hindrances that African American women leaders met on their pathway to success, and (c) role of resilience among African American women. The current research was guided by the Smith (2010) study; Smith completed research on this subject matter using African American males. The current research used women rather than men but maintained the same methodology. The Consensual Qualitative Research Method (CQR; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997; Hill et al., 2005) was used to analyze archived interviews of two past African American female presidents of a national diversity mental health association to identify themes and constructs that emerged from the interviews. The themes and constructs were used to identify the leadership development, the means and hindrances, and the role of resilience among African American women. The results of the current study also indicated that (a) positive feedback/success experience, (b) mentorship, (c) good educational experiences (d) early leadership involvement, and (e) attendance at conventions were instrumental for the participants' leadership development. The results of the current research are consistent with the Smith (2010) findings.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2023, Instructional Technology (Education)

Lawler, Beverly E., Ph.D., May 2023, Innovative Learning Design & Technology Instructional Design as an Occupation: The Lived Experiences of African American Women Accessing That Occupation Director of Dissertation: David R Moore Most women have faced challenges in the workplace. They often encounter sexual harassment, gender bias, challenges with working motherhood, unequal pay, and for people of color racism (State of Black Women in Corporate America, 2021). African American women particularly deal with a unique set of problems. They remain underrepresented at every level causing them to stay behind white men, men of color, and white women (Dutta, 2021). The goal of this study was to explore the lived experiences of African American women accessing the occupation of instructional design and identify issues of concern as viewed by African American women in this occupation. Participants noted strategies African American women use to navigate their professional lives. The participants selected included 13 African American women currently working as instructional designers. A particular focus was on African American women's unique experiences from corporate America to the private sector; regarding race, gender, sexism, compensation, and diversity and how these identities intersect and influence their careers. Another goal of the research was also to examine income and how these women viewed the distribution of wealth. Finally, the participants revealed how they believed work conditions had shaped African American women instructional designers' career paths.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2000, Graduate School

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1995, Graduate School

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1986, Graduate School

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2015, Leadership and Change

This study is a leadership biography which provides, through the lens of Black feminist thought, an alternative view and understanding of the leadership of Black women. Specifically, this analysis highlights ways in which Black women, frequently not identified by the dominant society as leaders, have and can become leaders. Lessons are drawn from the life of Anna Julia Cooper that provides new insights in leadership that heretofore were not evident. Additionally, this research offers provocative recommendations that provide a different perspective of what leadership is among Black women and how that kind of leadership can inform the canon of leadership. Cooper's voice in advocacy, education, community service, and involvement in the Black Women's Club Movement are the major themes in which evidence of her leadership is defined. This leadership biography moves beyond the western hegemonic point of view and the more traditional ways of thinking about leadership, which narrowly identify effective leaders and ways of thinking about leadership development. The findings of this study propose an alternative view of leadership that calls attention to the following critical elements: 1. Black women carry the co-identifers, gender and race, which continue to be nearly nonexistent in leadership theories, discourse, and mainstream leadership literature. 2. The positivist view, as being the only legitimate knowledge claim, must continue to be challenged. 3. There is a need to correct and update our history, making it more inclusive of all human beings. This leadership biography centers on the notion that Cooper, as a quintessential leader, remains paradoxical. For the most part, she continues to be an unknown figure to most Americans, both Black and White. Yet, remnants of Cooper's ideology and leadership are prolific. It is precisely this dissonance between Cooper the undervalued figure and Cooper the scholar/activist leader that is being analyzed in this study. Under (open full item for complete abstract)

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2024, Leadership and Change

The dissertation examined African American women with chieftaincy titles in Yoruba culture and how they exercised their leadership in both Yorubaland and America. It explored their leadership, authority, and training. The presence of African American women with chieftaincy titles is increasing in the American landscape. The methodology was qualitative using narrative inquiry and portraiture from Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot and Jessica Hoffman Davis (1997) with five African American women. My research included observations in Nigerian, pre-Osun festival, the Osun festival, and post-Osun festival. Observations also included three women Nigerian Chiefs. The research questions answered their qualifications to lead, their sense of knowing as leaders, and their commitment to the Yoruba people and tradition. This study identified the historical and cultural patterns necessary to understand, adapt, and implement training for future women leaders in the Isese/Ifa/Orisa tradition in America and for those learning Yoruba culture and customs in their chieftaincies. The data findings are contextualized in the narratives to provide an overall portrait of African American women leaders in the Yoruba culture and Isese/Ifa/Orisa tradition in the United States, primary community of Atlanta, Georgia. African American women lead from their sense of and proven skill strength either academically or vocationally. African American Chiefs do not need permission in the healing of their community. From the findings, this study proposed the theory of Motherism, which can be the basis for shared dialogue and understanding across the board for various affinity groups in the diaspora and Yorubaland. African American women do not have to disregard the historical v leadership work of African American women who have been trail blazers to be Yoruba women leaders in America. African American women continue the struggle for voice and equality despite the culture or religious norms o (open full item for complete abstract)

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2024, Leadership and Change

Law enforcement is a male-dominated field that has been slow to accept and promote African American women to positions of authority. As of 2016, there were only 3.1% Lieutenants and Sergeants, along with 1.6% Captains or higher that were African American women in the United States (Gomez, 2016). More recently, there has not been much change, as women are reportedly only 12% of the sworn officers and 3% of law enforcement leadership in the United States (Tumulty, 2023). Of that number, only 1% of African American women hold the position of Lieutenant or higher (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives [ATF], 2023). There are subtle barriers that women and minorities experience that keep them from moving up in the management hierarchy of law enforcement. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of African American women law enforcement supervisors related to the barriers encountered during their career, especially with promotion, and vital skills necessary for job performance. The study assessed advances, impacts on performance, peer intimidation, sexual harassment, discrimination, and other barriers that African American women face while pursuing top-level positions in law enforcement. The study included interviewing eight African American women law enforcement officers in Georgia, active duty and retired, that have held the positions of Commissioner, Chief, Captain, Lieutenant, Detective, Sergeant, and or Corporal. The following five themes emerged as a representation of their perceptions: (a) “Obstacles”: Operation Stumbling Blocks, (b) “Sabotage”: Monkey Wrench in the Works, (c) “Jealousy”: The Green-Eyed Monster, (d) “Overlooked”: Privy Passover, and (e) “Combative/ Overly Aggressive”: Angry Black Woman Syndrome. This study also has implications for lawmakers, departmental leads, and all level agencies of law enforcement to eliminate barriers, increase diversity, and practice e (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (D.H.A.), Franklin University, 2023, Health Programs

Houston, Texas, a sprawling metropolis known for its diverse population, is home to a vibrant and thriving healthcare industry. Within this sector, African American women have emerged as influential leaders, catalyzing change and innovation. Nevertheless, Black women leaders in healthcare continue to encounter obstacles such as gender bias and racial discrimination. Overcoming these challenges requires resilience, mentorship, and a commitment to dismantling systemic barriers. African American women in healthcare leadership roles in Houston, Texas, are instrumental in shaping the healthcare landscape and advancing health equity. This work sheds light on the experiences, achievements, and challenges faced by Black women in healthcare leadership roles.

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), University of Findlay, 2023, Education

In the United States, African Americans represent 13.3% of the population and approximately 27% of them live beneath the poverty line in comparison to 10.8% of non-Hispanic Whites (American Psychiatric Association, 2017). The history of African Americans in America continues to be defined by trauma and violence more frequently than their Caucasian counterparts, which effects the mental health and emotional state of them as youth and adults (Mental Health America, 2020). The literature identified spirituality as the chief coping mechanism for African American women who have experienced trauma. A phenomenological method was employed to capture narratives and to conceptualize a deeper meaning of the African American women's spirituality. This study can contribute to the increasing body of literature covering the benefits that are associated with spirituality, yet there is more research that can be done that examine the ways trauma patients use spirituality to facilitate their healing process. This qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews which allowed the researcher to ask participants to tell a story about their experience of adverse childhood trauma and the role of spirituality in helping them recover and heal, affording them to connect with a phenomenological approach. The findings in this qualitative research showed that psychological and physical trauma can have intense implications on growth and wellness throughout one's life. Recommendations developed from the data and themes of this research.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2023, Leadership and Change

There is a paucity of theorizing concerning leadership enactments performed by African American women. The performances have been marginalized and obscured within the Western leadership canon as they fall outside its epistemological boundaries; they have also been sidelined within Critical Leadership Studies. This study employed Afrocentricity as a decolonizing paradigm and Africology as the research methodology to describe and define a leadership phenomenon enacted by African American women. Setting aside Western conceptions of leadership, focus groups of African American women examined video excerpts of Africana women's oral performances through an Africological lens. Participants' Afrocentric-oriented perceptions sparked collective storytelling and Meaning-Making regarding their lived experiences of African American women who mobilize and energize others employing spiritually-anchored, embodied, affective approaches to engagement. Centering the African American women's culturally distinct ways of being, knowing, and doing, the participants' collective narratives were used to identify the four elements of the leadership phenomenon which included: spirituality, knowing, orality, and embodiment. A framework emerged from the data reflecting the interconnected, interrelated, interdependent, Afro-circular dynamism of the enactment's elements and their characteristics; it served as the foundational architecture upon which to construct a theory of Empowered Presence, a culturally-distinct, spiritually-anchored, holistically-embodied performance of galvanizing, mobilizing, and engaging others within the collective. This study not only expands Western leadership theorizing but provides the groundwork for Afrocentric researchers to enhance decolonizing approaches to investigate African American women's leadership within a Africological methodological framework. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu/) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https:/ (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership , Franklin University, 2023, International Institute for Innovative Instruction

This explanatory sequential mixed methodology study examined the impact of mentorship on African American female accountants' advancement to executive leadership positions. The target sample included mentored African American female accountants in the Accountants of Color (AOC) Facebook group, Alliance of Black Women Accountants (ABWA), Black Women in Accounting and Finance Network LinkedIn group, and the Accountancy Board of Ohio. The goal of the mixed methods study was to understand the mentoring relationships, perceived mentorship benefits, and social networks experienced by African American female accountants. Due to the small sample size for the quantitative portion of the explanatory sequential mixed methods approach, multiple regression analysis was not performed. Phenomenological interviews were conducted for the qualitative approach to gain insight into participants' lived experiences regarding the benefits of connecting with a mentor, which contributed to the findings. Aside from the benefits of connecting with a mentor, the study's findings identified obstacles experienced by African American female accountants as they climbed the career ladder. The study's findings highlight a need to enhance the recruitment and retention of African American female accountants, diversity at the executive-level in leadership positions, and organizational strategies within accounting firms to help shatter glass and concrete ceilings in order for African American female accountants to obtain executive leadership positions. The study's research contributions highlight the benefits of mentoring relationships, networking, and the promotion of diversity initiatives within the organizational culture of accounting firms. The study enriched existing research as it focused exclusively on the lived experiences of African American female accountants to examine if mentorship influenced career advancement.

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2023, History

A drastically understudied research topic within the historical field pertains to Black women as college students who attended historically Black institutions during the early 1900s. Much of the literature devoted to this subject maintains that Black women attended colleges for the uplift of their communities. While this is true, there is evidence that Black women also attended universities for themselves. This thesis utilizes oral testimonies of nine Black women whom all attended historically Black colleges from roughly 1900 to 1926. Analysis of these interviews suggests that Black women did attend Black universities for their own purposes, specifically because of the chance to continue their education or because they wanted a career. This thesis explores a topic that has yet to be thoroughly developed by the historical field but will certainly contribute to future understandings of Black women and collegiate education at historically Black institutions.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, History

This dissertation focuses on the development of the Lost Cause mythology in North Carolina between the 1880s to the 1920s. The Lost Cause is a racist and inaccurate view of the Civil War years promoted by Neo-Confederate Southerners. This dissertation argues that the Lost Cause developed primarily through the efforts of Neo-Confederate organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy. These individuals built a compound-public space that united grassroots movements with official governmental figures to promote the Lost Cause mythology. The formation of this compound-public space and its impact on the Lost Cause provided the necessary cultural support for the development of a Democratic-backed white supremacist campaign in North Carolina in 1898 conducted to reduce the political power of Republicans and African Americans, and to re-establish Democratic hegemony. This dissertation explores the ways in which Neo-Confederates constructed the compound-public space including: the role of politics, gender, religion, education, the media, and Confederate monuments with the express goal of increasing the political power of the Democratic Party.

Doctor of Education, Ashland University, 2023, College of Education

African American females are underrepresented in STEM fields of studies and professions throughout the United States of America. This phenomenological study aims to understand the lived experiences of African American females persisting in post-secondary STEM education and STEM professions. Bronfenbrenner's (1979) Ecological Systems Theory served as the theoretical framework for this study. In addition, critical Race Theory was used as a filter to understand the challenges African American females face in STEM. The sample size for the research was seven African American females with STEM degrees working in STEM fields in the United States and abroad. In the data collection, the researcher employed a semi-structured interview. The researcher used the NVivo 12 software to systematically code, sort, identify themes and patterns, develop categories, and provide the report. Ten major themes emerged for this study: familial experiences, self-concept/STEM identity experiences, societal experiences, internal influences, familial influences, cultural influences, personal changes, cultural changes, connections to the community, and materialized support. The researcher maintained the privacy and confidentiality of all participants throughout the study. The researcher used pseudonyms and a secure password to preserve privacy and confidentiality. The findings from this study may contribute to the body of knowledge regarding African American females' persistence in STEM education and professions. Additionally, this research provided data to support the perceived barriers, challenges and influences African American females encountered in the STEM field of studies and occupations with the sources of influence of their STEM persistence.

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2022, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs

The nation has undergone a monumental increase in population growth over the past 20 years among minority groups (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010), especially among minority students. Despite this population growth, the growth in minority school leaders such as superintendents, and principals have experienced a much slower increase and a much slower increase among African American women leaders (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2005, 2018). The population of African American women in urban school K-12 leadership positions and their self-efficacy in their ascent into their positions is an understudied phenomenon. Their voices are often excluded from the research literature. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the intersectionality of race and gender of six African American women in urban school K-12 leadership positions to garner an understanding of the essence of their lived experiences, specifically; regarding their self-efficacy, challenges, and support, that influences their ascension into their leadership positions. This study took place in a Northeast Ohio metropolitan area. The aim was to understand their self-efficacy and development as leaders. The stories of African American women in urban school K-12 leadership regarding the challenges, support, and resilience on their ascent into their leadership positions could assist in helping aspiring female educators, particularly African American women educators as they seek leadership positions in urban education.