Team Members

Dr. Travis C. Smith (Dr. Tee) earned a Ph.D in Educational Leadership in Higher Education at Clemson University. As a critical scholar, he chooses to focus on inquiry, practice, and pedagogy that helps disrupt oppressive systems in order to support racially minoritized students.

My research foci center the voices and experiences students and faculty of color on college campuses. More specifically, my program of scholarship is focused on race, oppressive environments, and historical influences on the educational landscape for people of color.

Austin McDonald is a doctoral candidate and soon to be graduate of Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina. Born and raised in Huntsville, AL, Austin is a proud HBCU graduate of Stillman College (Tuscaloosa, AL) where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English (Secondary Education) in 2013.

Dr. Marcus E. Vandiver is a passionate and dedicated advocate for education and life-long learning. Dr. Vandiver has spent the last 18 years of his career at the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE), where he currently serves as an Education Analyst in the department’s Accountability
section.

Dr. Reginald Blockett, is an Assistant Professor in the Higher Education Administration graduate programs at Auburn University. He teaches courses on college student development, history of higher education, and intersectionality.

Daniel Holder earned his M.B.A with a focus in project management while serving as a USAF officer at Hanscom AFB in Massachusetts.

Dr. Ashley L. Isreal is the Interim Special Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs at Winthrop University. Reporting directly to the Vice President, Dr. Isreal serves as one of the key members of the Division for Student Affairs.

Dion earned a Doctor of Philosophy in the Higher Education Opportunity, Equity, and Justice at North Carolina State University.

Keneisha L. Harrington is an advanced qualitative researcher and Assistant Professor at Kennesaw State University. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Clemson University.

Dr. Dashana Lane is a qualitative researcher and adjunct professor at Bethune Cookman University and the University of Florida. She received her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Florida with an emphasis on Early Childhood Education.

Caitlynn Myer is the Associate Director for Intercultural Education & Engagement at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Focusing on the advancement of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, Myer develops and implements programmatic involvement and organizational leadership development promoting equitable and inclusive cultures for students.

Dr. Cherese F. Fine is a scholar and educator whose career is dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion. She has developed and coordinated several programs centered on college access and readiness, retention, and success among students of color.

Byron Lowens is a research scientist in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. His research uses a mixed-methods approach while utilizing a combination of computer science, design, and psychology to evaluate the cooperative relationship between humans and computational technologies.

Dr. Ayana T. Hardaway is a higher education scholar-practitioner and an independent critical qualitative researcher.

Dr. Melvin A. Whitehead is an educator whose research explores the legacies of racism on U.S. college campuses, with a focus on whiteness and anti-blackness. Dr. Whitehead’s work draws upon critical theories and frameworks and centers ways of knowing within Black communities, trauma, healing, and the spirit to complicate the field’s understanding of whiteness on U.S. college campuses.

Chiquita Brooks is the Health Sciences Advisor/Recruiter specialist at Southern Union State Community College. Primarily focusing on advising and career development services, Brooks prioritizes increasing student enrollment and retention in the area of health science.