Racial Justice Faculty Experts

University at Buffalo experts are available to discuss systemic racism, racial inequality and the fight for racial justice in all sectors of society, including in the context of Black Lives Matter and other activism.

For help reaching an expert on deadline, please contact UB's media relations team at 716-645-6969 or ub-news@buffalo.edu.

UB's racial justice experts by category:

These experts can discuss a variety of contemporary and historical issues relating to race, racism and racial justice.

  • Head shot of Cecil Foster, University at Buffalo Canadian studies and multiculturalism expert.
    4/7/23

    Cecil Foster

    Professor of Transnational Studies in the Department of Africana and American Studies

    Expertise: Canadian studies; multiculturalism, politics, race, ethnicity and immigration in Canada

    Phone: 716-645-0786

    Email: cecilfos@buffalo.edu

Foster is a novelist, essayist, journalist and scholar. He is a leading public intellectual on issues of citizenship, culture, multiculturalism, politics, race, ethnicity and immigration in the U.S. and Canada. He is author of books including, “They Call Me George: The Untold Story of the Black Train Porters and the Birth of Modern Canada"; “Blackness and Modernity: The Colour of Humanity and the Quest for Freedom”; and “A Place Called Heaven: The Meaning of Being Black in Canada.”  

  • Portrait of Donald A. Grinde Jr., University at Buffalo Native American studies expert.
    4/7/23

    Donald A. Grinde Jr.

    Professor Emeritus in the Department of Africana and American Studies

    Expertise: Native American studies, Native American thought, Haudenosaunee/Iroquois history, U.S. Indian Policy since 1871, American Indian activism

    Phone: 716-645-0828

    Email: dgrinde@buffalo.edu

Grinde can speak to the media about Native American thought, history and activism, including in relation to contemporary issues such as systemic racism, land rights, environmental concerns and inclusive educational curriculum. Grinde’s research and teaching have focused on Haudenosaunee/Iroquois history, U.S. Indian policy since 1871, Native American thought, and environmental history. 

Mt. Pleasant is an expert in Native American and Indigenous studies. She can speak to media about a wide range of issues in these fields. She can also comment on Indigenous inclusion in K-12 and higher education. Mt. Pleasant’s scholarship focuses on Haudenosaunee history during the 18th and 19th centuries. Her broader teaching and research interests include early American history; American Indian social and intellectual histories; settler colonialism, especially as it relates to legal and educational systems; conceptualizations of space, place and land tenure in Indian Country; and public history.

  • Portrait of Kelly Patterson, University at Buffalo housing and urban development expert.
    4/12/23

    Kelly Patterson

    Associate Professor of Social Work

    Expertise: social welfare policy; cannabis policy; residential segregation; fair housing; gentrification; homelessness; poverty and economic inequality; race and class

    Phone: 716-645-1248

    Email: klp27@buffalo.edu

Patterson can comment on the root causes of racial injustice in the United States, and on solutions for creating a more just and equitable society. Her research focuses on social welfare and housing policy, highlighting how residential segregation relegates the poor and minorities to disadvantaged neighborhoods with lower quality schools, services and food, and higher exposure to crime. She can also discuss how racist housing policies have created segregated neighborhoods that are an easy target for police misconduct.

  • Head shot of Raechele L. Pope, University at Buffalo multicultural education expert.
    12/12/22

    Raechele L. Pope

    Associate Dean for Faculty and Student Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer in the Graduate School of Education

    Expertise: multicultural education; equity, diversity and inclusion in higher education; campus climate; campus unrest; race, racism and race relations

    Phone: 716-645-1098

    Email: rlpope@buffalo.edu

Raechele Pope can discuss issues related to structural racism in society and within institutions, and how organizations can work to dismantle oppressive structures and systems. Pope is a leading scholar in higher education on multicultural competence and multicultural organizational change. Her research focuses on race, racism, equity, access, inclusion and engagement in higher education, and how structural change can create inclusive and equitable campuses. Her prescient article, “A Change is Gonna Come: Embracing Paradigm Shifts to Dismantle Oppressive Structures (2019),” focused on the need for structural change in higher education.

  • Portrait of Margaret Rhee, University at Buffalo new media and social justice expert.
    10/26/23

    Margaret Rhee

    Assistant Professor of Media Study

    Expertise: digital storytelling; participatory art; new media, ethnic, cultural, Asian American, queer and feminist studies

    Phone: 716-645-0923

    Email: mrhee@buffalo.edu

Rhee is a poet, scholar and new media artist with interests in ethnic, cultural, queer and feminist studies. Much of her writing and scholarship has focused on the experiences of Asian Americans. She can speak to news outlets about issues of racism and racial justice impacting these communities, including model minority myths and the ways Asian Americans are perceived in the U.S. Rhee works at the intersection of race, gender and sexuality, and technology, art and popular culture. She is interested in how technology and new media can promote equity, political participation and social justice. 

  • Head shot of Henry-Louis Taylor Jr., University at Buffalo urban development and gentrification expert.
    5/14/22

    Henry-Louis Taylor Jr.

    Director of the Center for Urban Studies

    Expertise: urban development, housing, gentrification, underdeveloped neighborhoods, shrinking cities, race and class, U.S.-Cuba relations

    Phone: 716-829-5458

    Email: htaylor@buffalo.edu

Taylor can comment broadly on issues of race and racial justice. His research focuses on a historical and contemporary analysis of underdeveloped urban neighborhoods, social isolation, and race and class issues among people of color. He is a UB professor of urban and regional planning, director of the UB Center for Urban Studies, an associate director of the UB Community Health Equity Research Institute, and a member of the African American Health Equity Task Force in Buffalo.

Health disparities, COVID-19

  • Portrait of Jenifer Barclay, University at Buffalo disability history and African American history expert.
    4/7/23

    Jenifer Barclay

    Associate Professor of History

    Expertise: disability history; disability, race, gender, class and sexuality; intersectionality; ableism; African American history; history of slavery, emancipation and the U.S. Civil War

    Phone: 716-645-8409

    Email: barclay7@buffalo.edu

Barclay is an expert on the history of disability as it intersects with the history of race, gender, class and sexuality, especially in the era before, during and after the U.S. Civil War. Barclay’s research places African American history into conversation with the “new” disability history, a field that emphasizes disability as a lived human experience embedded in a set of socially constructed ideas that change over time, across cultures and in relation to other categories of identity.

  • Portrait of Isok Kim, University at Buffalo mental health and refugee-related trauma expert.
    3/1/22

    Isok Kim

    Associate Professor of Social Work

    Expertise: mental health and wellbeing among Asian Americans; refugee-related trauma; post-resettlement challenges; culturally responsive mental health services

    Phone: 716-645-1252

    Email: isokkim@buffalo.edu

Kim can discuss the role of race and ethnicity in mental health disparities, particularly among immigrant and refugee communities. His research seeks to address the needs of the Asian American community, specifically Southeast Asians. His work includes developing community-based research with Burmese/Karen refugees in Buffalo, and he is interested in the creation of programs that respond to the mental health issues of refugees and their trauma experiences.

  • Portrait of David A. Mmilling, University at Buffalo medical education expert.
    8/25/21

    David A. Milling

    Senior Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

    Expertise: medical education; clinical skills; multicultural affairs and cultural competency in medicine; diversity in the medical profession

    Phone: 716-829-2802

    Email: dmilling@buffalo.edu

    Contact: Milling can also be reached through Ellen Goldbaum in University Communications at 716-645-4605 or goldbaum@buffalo.edu, or Douglas Sitler in University Communications at 716-645-9069 or drsitler@buffalo.edu.

Milling can speak to media about medical education during the pandemic. Among other issues, he can discuss cultural competency in medicine, how medical schools can improve cultural competency among students, and efforts to recruit more underrepresented students to pursue medicine. He directs UB’s post-baccalaureate program, funded by the New York State Department of Health and supported by the Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY) and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB. The intensive program is designed to expand the pool of underrepresented, economically and educationally disadvantaged students in medical school.​

  • Head shot of Timothy Murphy, University at Buffalo infectious diseases expert.
    2/21/22

    Timothy F. Murphy

    SUNY Distinguished Professor of Medicine

    Expertise: infectious diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), vaccine development, children’s ear infections, health disparities, clinical and translational science

    Phone: 716-881-8911

    Email: murphyt@buffalo.edu

Murphy can discuss inequities in health care access, COVID-19's disproportionate impact on people of color in underserved communities, and issues surrounding equitable vaccine distribution. He directs the UB Community Health Equity Research Institute.​

  • Heather Ochs-Balcom.
    8/8/22

    Heather Ochs-Balcom

    Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Environmental Health

    Expertise: cancer, genetic influences on disease risk, women’s health

    Phone: 716-829-5338

    Email: hmochs2@buffalo.edu

Ochs-Balcom can discuss the need for public health and epidemiological research to include diverse populations. She has a research focus on reducing cancer health disparities. She was the lead researcher on the Jewels in Our Genes study, which identified three locations in African American women's genomes that may contain undiscovered genes that contribute to hereditary breast cancer.

  • Head shot of Heather Orom, University at Buffalo health disparities expert.
    6/23/23

    Heather Orom

    Associate Professor of Community Health and Health Behavior

    Expertise: health disparities, illness risk perception

    Phone: 716-829- 6682

    Email: horom@buffalo.edu

Orom can discuss how COVID-19's disproportionate impact communities of color and people of low socioeconomic status due to decades of inequities that have made people with less education, people living in poverty and racial/ethnic minorities more vulnerable to serious COVID-19 disease. She is an associate director of the UB Community Health Equity Research Institute.

  • Portrait of Kelly Patterson, University at Buffalo housing and urban development expert.
    4/12/23

    Kelly Patterson

    Associate Professor of Social Work

    Expertise: social welfare policy; cannabis policy; residential segregation; fair housing; gentrification; homelessness; poverty and economic inequality; race and class

    Phone: 716-645-1248

    Email: klp27@buffalo.edu

Patterson can discuss how residential segregation and economic inequality contributes to health disparities, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes issues tied to unequal access to housing, education, services and food.

  • Portrait of Maria Y. Rodriguez, University at Buffalo social work and human services expert.
    12/7/23

    Maria Y. Rodriguez

    Assistant Professor of Social Work

    Expertise: Computational methods in social work and social policy; social movements on social media; disinformation targeting Black and brown communities online

    Phone: 716-645-2986

    Email: myr2@buffalo.edu

Rodriguez uses computational social science methods to address problems in social work, social policy and human services. Among other topics, her interests include questions at the intersection of social media and social justice. This includes social work’s social media response to COVID-19, as well as disinformation that may inhibit vaccine acceptance in Black and brown communities.

  • Portrait of Sourav Sengupta, University at Buffalo child and adolescent mental health expert.
    9/29/22

    Sourav Sengupta

    Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics

    Expertise: Child and adolescent mental health; children’s and adolescents’ use of technology, including screen time

    Email: souravse@buffalo.edu

    Contact: Sourav Sengupta can be reached through Ellen Goldbaum in University Communications at 716-645-4605 or goldbaum@buffalo.edu, or Douglas Sitler in University Communications at 716-645-9069 or drsitler@buffalo.edu.

Sengupta can discuss the individual, family, community and societal mental health consequences of systemic racism, and disparities in access to mental health care.

  • Head shot of Henry-Louis Taylor Jr., University at Buffalo urban development and gentrification expert.
    5/14/22

    Henry-Louis Taylor Jr.

    Director of the Center for Urban Studies

    Expertise: urban development, housing, gentrification, underdeveloped neighborhoods, shrinking cities, race and class, U.S.-Cuba relations

    Phone: 716-829-5458

    Email: htaylor@buffalo.edu

Taylor can discuss health disparities and the differential impact that COVID-19 is having on African Americans, the Black community and low-income urban groups, especially people living in poverty. This framework includes issues of unemployment, housing and access to treatment. He is a UB professor of urban and regional planning, director of the UB Center for Urban Studies, an associate director of the UB Community Health Equity Research Institute, and a member of the African American Health Equity Task Force in Buffalo.

  • Portrait of Hilary Weaver, University at Buffalo faculty expert on cultural competence in helping professions, and issues affecting Indigenous Peoples.
    4/12/23

    Hilary Weaver

    Professor Emeritus of Social Work

    Expertise: Multicultural social work; historical and contemporary issues affecting Indigenous Peoples, including Native Americans; refugee health and well-being; trauma and resilience

    Phone: 716-645-1226

    Email: hweaver@buffalo.edu

Weaver can discuss health disparities among Indigenous Peoples, and how inequities in health care access and services have worsened the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Native American populations. Weaver is a social worker, educator and researcher whose work centers on the importance of culture in helping processes, and how social work and other helping professions can be more responsive to culturally diverse people.

Urban development, housing, residential segregation

  • Head shot of Robert Adelman, University at Buffalo immigration and U.S. Census expert.
    7/15/21

    Robert Adelman

    Chair and Professor of Sociology

    Expertise: urban sociology, segregation, race, immigration, U.S. Census

    Phone: 716-645-8478

    Email: adelman4@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Kelly Patterson, University at Buffalo housing and urban development expert.
    4/12/23

    Kelly Patterson

    Associate Professor of Social Work

    Expertise: social welfare policy; cannabis policy; residential segregation; fair housing; gentrification; homelessness; poverty and economic inequality; race and class

    Phone: 716-645-1248

    Email: klp27@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Samina Raja.
    12/26/18

    Samina Raja

    Professor of Urban and Regional Planning 

    Expertise: food access, food systems planning, food and urban planning, local government food policy

    Phone: 716-829-5881

    Email: sraja@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Robert Silverman, University at Buffalo affordable housing and gentrification expert.
    8/16/21

    Robert Silverman

    Professor of Urban and Regional Planning

    Expertise: shrinking cities, fair housing, affordable housing, gentrification, community development, nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations in urban neighborhoods

    Phone: 716-829-5882

    Email: rms35@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Henry-Louis Taylor Jr., University at Buffalo urban development and gentrification expert.
    5/14/22

    Henry-Louis Taylor Jr.

    Director of the Center for Urban Studies

    Expertise: urban development, housing, gentrification, underdeveloped neighborhoods, shrinking cities, race and class, U.S.-Cuba relations

    Phone: 716-829-5458

    Email: htaylor@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Victoria Wolcott, University at Buffalo civil rights expert.
    9/8/23

    Victoria Wolcott

    Director of the Gender Institute

    Expertise: civil rights, African American history, race and cities, urban history, gender, sexuality

    Phone: 716-645-8411

    Email: vwwolcot@buffalo.edu

Economic inequality

  • Head shot of Matthew Dimick.
    4/7/23

    Matthew Dimick

    Professor of Law

    Expertise: income inequality, tax and welfare policy as it relates to income inequality, corporations, employment law, labor law

    Phone: 716-645-7968

    Email: mdimick@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Erin Hatton, University at Buffalo labor, workforce and gig economy expert.
    2/15/23

    Erin Hatton

    Professor of Sociology

    Expertise: labor movements, gig economy, job security, coerced labor, pay for college athletes, minimum wage, workfare

    Phone: 716-645-8476

    Email: eehatton@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Kelly Patterson, University at Buffalo housing and urban development expert.
    4/12/23

    Kelly Patterson

    Associate Professor of Social Work

    Expertise: social welfare policy; cannabis policy; residential segregation; fair housing; gentrification; homelessness; poverty and economic inequality; race and class

    Phone: 716-645-1248

    Email: klp27@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Henry-Louis Taylor Jr., University at Buffalo urban development and gentrification expert.
    5/14/22

    Henry-Louis Taylor Jr.

    Director of the Center for Urban Studies

    Expertise: urban development, housing, gentrification, underdeveloped neighborhoods, shrinking cities, race and class, U.S.-Cuba relations

    Phone: 716-829-5458

    Email: htaylor@buffalo.edu

Education, schools

  • Head shot of Annahita Ball, University at Buffalo expert on schools and social services.
    4/12/23

    Annahita Ball

    Associate Professor of Social Work

    Expertise: family engagement in schools; educational justice and reform; school-based mental health services; school-community partnerships

    Phone: 716-645-8951

    Email: annahita@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Jenifer Barclay, University at Buffalo disability history and African American history expert.
    4/7/23

    Jenifer Barclay

    Associate Professor of History

    Expertise: disability history; disability, race, gender, class and sexuality; intersectionality; ableism; African American history; history of slavery, emancipation and the U.S. Civil War

    Phone: 716-645-8409

    Email: barclay7@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Luis A. Colón, University at Buffalo separation science, analytical chemistry, and STEM diversity expert.
    10/19/22

    Luis A. Colón

    A. Conger Goodyear Professor of Chemistry

    Expertise: analytical chemistry, separation science, liquid chromatography, diversity in STEM, mentoring students of color

    Phone: 716-645-4213

    Email: lacolon@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Nathan J. Daun-Barnett, University at Buffalo expert on college access and financial aid.
    8/16/21

    Nathan J. Daun-Barnett

    Associate Professor of Higher Education Administration

    Expertise: college access, financial aid policy, college transition

    Phone: 716-645-1096

    Email: nbarnett@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Donald A. Grinde Jr., University at Buffalo Native American studies expert.
    4/7/23

    Donald A. Grinde Jr.

    Professor Emeritus in the Department of Africana and American Studies

    Expertise: Native American studies, Native American thought, Haudenosaunee/Iroquois history, U.S. Indian Policy since 1871, American Indian activism

    Phone: 716-645-0828

    Email: dgrinde@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Sameer Honwad, University at Buffalo education access and equity expert.
    4/15/20

    Sameer Honwad

    Assistant Professor of Learning and Instruction

    Expertise: access, equity and diversity in education; cultural studies; international education; science and environmental education

    Phone: 716-645-2455

    Email: sameerho@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of LaGarrett J. King, University at Buffalo Black history education expert.
    7/27/22

    LaGarrett J. King

    Director of the Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education

    Expertise: Black history education, social studies, history of education, teacher education, racism and anti-Blackness

    Phone: 716-645-2455

    Email: lagarret@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of David A. Mmilling, University at Buffalo medical education expert.
    8/25/21

    David A. Milling

    Senior Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

    Expertise: medical education; clinical skills; multicultural affairs and cultural competency in medicine; diversity in the medical profession

    Phone: 716-829-2802

    Email: dmilling@buffalo.edu

    Contact: Milling can also be reached through Ellen Goldbaum in University Communications at 716-645-4605 or goldbaum@buffalo.edu, or Douglas Sitler in University Communications at 716-645-9069 or drsitler@buffalo.edu.

  • Portrait of Tiffany Karalis Noel, University at Buffalo education expert, with expertise in multiculturalism, social inequity and belongingness in education.
    8/16/21

    Tiffany Karalis Noel

    Clinical Assistant Professor of Learning and Instruction

    Expertise: sociocultural inequity in education, teacher preparation and retention, mentoring in higher education

    Phone: 716-645-2455

    Email: tbkarali@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Raechele L. Pope, University at Buffalo multicultural education expert.
    12/12/22

    Raechele L. Pope

    Associate Dean for Faculty and Student Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer in the Graduate School of Education

    Expertise: multicultural education; equity, diversity and inclusion in higher education; campus climate; campus unrest; race, racism and race relations

    Phone: 716-645-1098

    Email: rlpope@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Matilde Sanchez-Pena, University at Buffalo engineering education and equity faculty expert.
    12/2/21

    Matilde Sanchez-Pena

    Assistant Professor of Engineering Education

    Expertise: engineering education, cultures of wellbeing, institutional diversity, faculty advancement, equity in the engineering field, women in STEM, intersectionality

    Phone: 716-645-5861

    Email: matildes@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Stephen Santa-Ramirez, University at Buffalo higher education access and equity expert.
    6/14/22

    Stephen Santa-Ramirez

    Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy

    Expertise: access and equity in higher education; race, ethnicity, im/migration and Latinx collegians' educational experiences; undocumented and DACA students in higher education

    Phone: 716-645-5236

    Email: srsantar@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Letitia Thomas, University at Buffalo STEM education and STEM diversity expert.
    8/16/21

    Letitia Thomas

    Assistant Dean for Diversity in the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

    Expertise: STEM education and pipelines; women and students of color in STEM; sociology of education; social justice; social networks; microaggressions

    Phone: 716-645-3071

    Email: lthomas@buffalo.edu

Policing, criminal justice system

  • Portrait of Athena D. Mutua, University at Buffalo civil rights law and legal justice system expert.
    6/23/23

    Athena D. Mutua

    Professor of Law and Floyd H. and Hilda L. Hurst Faculty Scholar

    Expertise: civil rights law; constitutional law (Fourteenth Amendment); critical race and feminist legal theory; law and political economy; race and the legal justice system

    Phone: 716-645-2873. Athena D. Mutua can sometimes be contacted more quickly through the UB Media Relations team at ub-news@buffalo.edu.

    Email: admutua@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Anthony O'Rourke, University at Buffalo criminal law and procedure expert.
    8/16/21

    Anthony O’Rourke

    Joseph W. Belluck and Laura L. Aswad Professor of Civil Justice

    Expertise: criminal law and procedure, inequality in the criminal justice system

    Phone: 716-645-3097

    Email: aorourke@buffalo.edu

Democracy, politics

  • Head shot of Robert Adelman, University at Buffalo immigration and U.S. Census expert.
    7/15/21

    Robert Adelman

    Chair and Professor of Sociology

    Expertise: urban sociology, segregation, race, immigration, U.S. Census

    Phone: 716-645-8478

    Email: adelman4@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Cecil Foster, University at Buffalo Canadian studies and multiculturalism expert.
    4/7/23

    Cecil Foster

    Professor of Transnational Studies in the Department of Africana and American Studies

    Expertise: Canadian studies; multiculturalism, politics, race, ethnicity and immigration in Canada

    Phone: 716-645-0786

    Email: cecilfos@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Donald A. Grinde Jr., University at Buffalo Native American studies expert.
    4/7/23

    Donald A. Grinde Jr.

    Professor Emeritus in the Department of Africana and American Studies

    Expertise: Native American studies, Native American thought, Haudenosaunee/Iroquois history, U.S. Indian Policy since 1871, American Indian activism

    Phone: 716-645-0828

    Email: dgrinde@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Kari J. Winter.
    8/16/21

    Kari J. Winter

    Professor of American Studies

    Expertise: gender, feminism, race, class, slavery, politics of food, literature

    Phone: 716-645-0827

    Email: kwinter2@buffalo.edu

History

  • Portrait of Jenifer Barclay, University at Buffalo disability history and African American history expert.
    4/7/23

    Jenifer Barclay

    Associate Professor of History

    Expertise: disability history; disability, race, gender, class and sexuality; intersectionality; ableism; African American history; history of slavery, emancipation and the U.S. Civil War

    Phone: 716-645-8409

    Email: barclay7@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Carole Emberton.
    4/7/23

    Carole Emberton

    Professor of History

    Expertise: Civil War era, Confederate flag and monuments, history of race, slavery, Southern history, racial violence

    Phone: 716-645-8405

    Email: emberton@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Cecil Foster, University at Buffalo Canadian studies and multiculturalism expert.
    4/7/23

    Cecil Foster

    Professor of Transnational Studies in the Department of Africana and American Studies

    Expertise: Canadian studies; multiculturalism, politics, race, ethnicity and immigration in Canada

    Phone: 716-645-0786

    Email: cecilfos@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Donald A. Grinde Jr., University at Buffalo Native American studies expert.
    4/7/23

    Donald A. Grinde Jr.

    Professor Emeritus in the Department of Africana and American Studies

    Expertise: Native American studies, Native American thought, Haudenosaunee/Iroquois history, U.S. Indian Policy since 1871, American Indian activism

    Phone: 716-645-0828

    Email: dgrinde@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of LaGarrett J. King, University at Buffalo Black history education expert.
    7/27/22

    LaGarrett J. King

    Director of the Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education

    Expertise: Black history education, social studies, history of education, teacher education, racism and anti-Blackness

    Phone: 716-645-2455

    Email: lagarret@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Ndubueze L. Mbah, University at Buffalo West Africa and Atlantic World expert.
    8/16/21

    Ndubueze L. Mbah

    Associate Professor of History

    Expertise: African history; the Atlantic World; colonialism; gender in West Africa; history of slavery and emancipation; Boko Haram

    Phone: 716-645-8415

    Email: ndubueze@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Lillian S. Williams, University at Buffalo U.S. social and urban history expert.
    8/16/21

    Lillian S. Williams

    Associate Professor of Africana and American Studies

    Expertise: U.S. social and urban history; African American history in the U.S. and Western New York; women’s history

    Phone: 716-645-0798

    Email: lsw4@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Kari J. Winter.
    8/16/21

    Kari J. Winter

    Professor of American Studies

    Expertise: gender, feminism, race, class, slavery, politics of food, literature

    Phone: 716-645-0827

    Email: kwinter2@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Victoria Wolcott, University at Buffalo civil rights expert.
    9/8/23

    Victoria Wolcott

    Director of the Gender Institute

    Expertise: civil rights, African American history, race and cities, urban history, gender, sexuality

    Phone: 716-645-8411

    Email: vwwolcot@buffalo.edu

Immigrant, refugee and diaspora experiences

  • Head shot of Cecil Foster, University at Buffalo Canadian studies and multiculturalism expert.
    4/7/23

    Cecil Foster

    Professor of Transnational Studies in the Department of Africana and American Studies

    Expertise: Canadian studies; multiculturalism, politics, race, ethnicity and immigration in Canada

    Phone: 716-645-0786

    Email: cecilfos@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Isok Kim, University at Buffalo mental health and refugee-related trauma expert.
    3/1/22

    Isok Kim

    Associate Professor of Social Work

    Expertise: mental health and wellbeing among Asian Americans; refugee-related trauma; post-resettlement challenges; culturally responsive mental health services

    Phone: 716-645-1252

    Email: isokkim@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Margaret Rhee, University at Buffalo new media and social justice expert.
    10/26/23

    Margaret Rhee

    Assistant Professor of Media Study

    Expertise: digital storytelling; participatory art; new media, ethnic, cultural, Asian American, queer and feminist studies

    Phone: 716-645-0923

    Email: mrhee@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Stephen Santa-Ramirez, University at Buffalo higher education access and equity expert.
    6/14/22

    Stephen Santa-Ramirez

    Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy

    Expertise: access and equity in higher education; race, ethnicity, im/migration and Latinx collegians' educational experiences; undocumented and DACA students in higher education

    Phone: 716-645-5236

    Email: srsantar@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Hilary Weaver, University at Buffalo faculty expert on cultural competence in helping professions, and issues affecting Indigenous Peoples.
    4/12/23

    Hilary Weaver

    Professor Emeritus of Social Work

    Expertise: Multicultural social work; historical and contemporary issues affecting Indigenous Peoples, including Native Americans; refugee health and well-being; trauma and resilience

    Phone: 716-645-1226

    Email: hweaver@buffalo.edu

Diversity in the workplace

  • Head shot of Kate Bezrukova, University at Buffalo team performance expert.
    9/20/22

    Kate Bezrukova

    Associate Professor and Chair of Organization and Human Resources

    Expertise: team chemistry in business and sports; managing a diverse workforce; unconscious bias at work; negotiations and gender; work-life balance; conflict management; artificial intelligence in teams

    Contact: Kate Bezrukova can be reached most quickly through Jackie Ghosen in the School of Management Communications Office at 716-645-2833 or mgt-pr@buffalo.edu.

  • Head shot of Raechele L. Pope, University at Buffalo multicultural education expert.
    12/12/22

    Raechele L. Pope

    Associate Dean for Faculty and Student Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer in the Graduate School of Education

    Expertise: multicultural education; equity, diversity and inclusion in higher education; campus climate; campus unrest; race, racism and race relations

    Phone: 716-645-1098

    Email: rlpope@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Margaret Rhee, University at Buffalo new media and social justice expert.
    10/26/23

    Margaret Rhee

    Assistant Professor of Media Study

    Expertise: digital storytelling; participatory art; new media, ethnic, cultural, Asian American, queer and feminist studies

    Phone: 716-645-0923

    Email: mrhee@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Matilde Sanchez-Pena, University at Buffalo engineering education and equity faculty expert.
    12/2/21

    Matilde Sanchez-Pena

    Assistant Professor of Engineering Education

    Expertise: engineering education, cultures of wellbeing, institutional diversity, faculty advancement, equity in the engineering field, women in STEM, intersectionality

    Phone: 716-645-5861

    Email: matildes@buffalo.edu

Media, social media, misinformation

  • Portrait of Margaret Rhee, University at Buffalo new media and social justice expert.
    10/26/23

    Margaret Rhee

    Assistant Professor of Media Study

    Expertise: digital storytelling; participatory art; new media, ethnic, cultural, Asian American, queer and feminist studies

    Phone: 716-645-0923

    Email: mrhee@buffalo.edu

  • Portrait of Maria Y. Rodriguez, University at Buffalo social work and human services expert.
    12/7/23

    Maria Y. Rodriguez

    Assistant Professor of Social Work

    Expertise: Computational methods in social work and social policy; social movements on social media; disinformation targeting Black and brown communities online

    Phone: 716-645-2986

    Email: myr2@buffalo.edu

Climate change, environmental justice

  • Portrait of Donald A. Grinde Jr., University at Buffalo Native American studies expert.
    4/7/23

    Donald A. Grinde Jr.

    Professor Emeritus in the Department of Africana and American Studies

    Expertise: Native American studies, Native American thought, Haudenosaunee/Iroquois history, U.S. Indian Policy since 1871, American Indian activism

    Phone: 716-645-0828

    Email: dgrinde@buffalo.edu

  • Head shot of Sameer Honwad, University at Buffalo education access and equity expert.
    4/15/20

    Sameer Honwad

    Assistant Professor of Learning and Instruction

    Expertise: access, equity and diversity in education; cultural studies; international education; science and environmental education

    Phone: 716-645-2455

    Email: sameerho@buffalo.edu