My work sits at the intersection of clinical practice, pedagogy, and health equity. I came into social work through direct practice, working with individuals and families navigating substance use, trauma, and mental health challenges long before I entered the academy. That grounding shapes everything I do as a professor, researcher, and clinician.
My scholarship centers on three interconnected areas. First, how Black women’s distress is misread or missed entirely in clinical settings — what I examine through the lens of the Superwoman Schema and somatic expressions of depression. Second, the Social Work Oncology Pipeline Initiative (SWOPI), a study of how field education at HBCUs can address breast cancer disparities in Black women. Third, Womanist Simulation Pedagogy, which uses AI-generated avatars to transform how helping professionals learn to see and hear their clients.
I have taught at seven universities across every level of social work education, from BSW to DSW. My courses span clinical practice, addiction studies, research methods, and human behavior. I maintain an active telehealth private practice through Knoll Mind, LLC, serving adults in North Carolina and Delaware. I have held clinical licensure since 2009 and have been an approved LCSWA supervisor since 2011.
Before NCCU, I held faculty positions at Columbia University, Tulane, Simmons, Winthrop, and Southern Illinois University. My work has been funded by NCCU’s Faculty Research Award Program, the Stacie Mathewson Foundation, and a collaborative NCI-aligned oncology pipeline grant currently under development.
