Sharon Parker (NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship, Brown University and the Miriam Hospital, Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Associate Professor. Research and practice interests: Biomedical research examining the use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) with men who have sex with men (MSM), discordant couples, and other high-risk populations, health disparities, HIV prevention and intervention with criminal justice involved adults, substance abuse, intimate partner violence, gender inequality, translational research, and qualitative research methods.

Indhira Udofia graduated with a Master of Divinity from Duke University and a Masters in Social Work University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill from their joint dual degree program in 2016. After her program, she spent an additional year of study looking at trauma theology and queer theory at Boston University. There, she earned a Master of Sacred Theology (STM) in 2017. In her studies at Boston University, she focused on purity culture and the liberative potential of Black queer women’s relationships. Her current research interest is examining the impact of toxic religiosity within Black Church spaces on African American’s identity formation and sociocultural functioning.

Indhira Udofia has vast working experiences in community and clinical care including therapeutic services, spiritual services, clinical and academic research, writing and collaborative projects. Her extensive work experiences in clinical and community settings since 2009 as well as faith communities (from 2014) shaped her deep passion for helping communities and individuals recover from trauma—especially in spaces of spiritual abuse and grief—in order to be empowered in their own lives and healing. She currently works as a Clincial Lead for a community mental health agency and works as a faith practitioner with a local faith community in Greensboro.

Leigh Norwood is a licensed clinical social worker with more than 16 years in the field. She received her Master’s of Social Work from the JMSW Program at UNC Greensboro and NC A&T State University. Her experience includes acute trauma response within a law enforcement and area mental health collaborative program, as well as managed care and intensive community-based program administration. During her tenure in these settings, she worked extensively with victims of IPV, both adults and children. Leigh currently serves as the Assistant Director at a university counseling center where she provides individual and group therapy, in addition to administrative supervision of senior staff. Training and supervision are also a significant area of interest for Leigh and she has clinically supervised practicum students and provisionally licensed social workers for a number of years. Leigh has consistently been involved in the Empowered Black Women’s group as one of the facilitators and she currently co-chairs the Black Student Mental Health Taskforce. Her interests include: trauma, marginalization and mental health disparities of people of color, as well as community-based resilience.

Francis Ndinya graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography with a minor in Law from University of Science and Technology (currently known as Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology) in Ghana. He received Master’s in Science Degree in Mental Health (Rehabilitation) Counseling from NC A&T State University. He is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC), and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC).

Francis has worked many years with people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and mental health diagnoses as a paraprofessional to qualified professional. He also worked as a Rehabilitation Counselor at NC Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Francis also served as a Site Supervisor for students in the Mental Health Counseling program on their practicum and internships. Currently, he is the Clinical Director for Cozie’s Supervised Living Inc.

His research interest is in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities with focus on intervention strategies, autonomy, and quality of life of persons living in group homes.

Lubaba Mitchell graduated from City College (City University of New York) in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. She went on to complete a Master of Social Work degree at Fordham University in 2005 and a Master of Public Administration degree from Appalachian State University in 2012.

Lubaba has worked for many years in the field of family and child welfare, with experience in group homes, supportive housing, foster care casework, child protective services and juvenile justice. At each step of her career, Lubaba has pondered how clients might be better served with resources that support their needs, and whether such resources can be preventive rather than reactive. A major focus of her Public Administration degree was the engagement and retention of workers that provide services, with the idea that skilled and energized workers provide more effective and efficient services.

Lyneisha Dukes graduated from Fordham University in NY, NY with her Masters in Social Work with a concentration in Human Service Leadership. After attaining her degree she acquired her LMSW and chose to pursue a macro leadership track at one of NYC largest social service agencies. There, she led the Intern and Volunteer Department. As a liaison she connected community members, donors, and students to various sectors of social work practice including Domestic Violence, Early Childhood Mental Health, Transition Age Foster Care Youth, Intellectual and Developmentally Disabled, and Adults with Mental Health Challenges. Lyneisha prides herself on her commitment to Racial Equity and Inclusivity. She led a number of agency wide events to engage staff, students, and volunteers in ongoing learning grounded in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Lyneisha has supported qualitative research studies which explore the use of PReP as a HIV Prevention mechanism for incarcerated women and individuals with histories of incarceration. Lyneisha currently serves as the research assistant for the Essential Women of Color study, which explores the coping of women of color who have been deemed essential during COVID-19. Lyneisha's scholarship will focus on the coping mechanisms of incarcerated mothers. Her research interests include: incarcerated women and men, incarcerated mothers, HIV prevention, and racial equity.

J. Dontaè Roberts graduated with a MSW from the School of Jane Addams in Chicago. He has been a fully licensed clinical social worker since 2015. Currently he is a 3rd year doctoral student in the JPHD program in Greensboro, N.C. He is a Child Well-Being Fellow, Moynihan Fatherhood Fellow and the Principal Investigator of a study titled, “Understanding the Impact of Racial Trauma on African American Fathers’ Mental Health”, which is a mix methods study and a timely project due to our current racial climate. He is an adjunct at UNC- Greensboro and work as a Quality Management Clinical Coordinator at Monarch. He has worked on several pilot studies investigating mental health, primary care, fatherhood, and program evaluation. He has a versatile experience which includes program development, qualitative and quantitative research methods, counseling with SMI with adults and Veterans, case management, medical and clinical case management, and crisis intervention.