What is Black Podcast Advisory Board Members 

  • Dr. Riana Elyse Anderson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health. She earned her PhD in Clinical and Community Psychology at the University of Virginia and completed a Clinical and Community Psychology Residency at Yale University's School of Medicine and a Fellowship in Applied Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She uses mixed methods in clinical interventions to study racial discrimination and socialization in Black families to reduce racial stress and trauma and improve psychological well-being and family functioning. She is particularly interested in how these factors predict familial functioning and subsequent child psychosocial well-being and health-related behaviors when enrolled in family-based interventions. Dr. Anderson is the developer and director of the EMBRace (Engaging, Managing, and Bonding through Race) intervention and loves to translate her work for a variety of audiences, particularly those whom she serves in the community, via blogs, video, and literary articles. Finally, Dr. Anderson was born in, raised for, and returned to Detroit and is becoming increasingly addicted to cake pops.

  • Dr. Frank Alexander Clark is a board-certified adult psychiatrist at Prisma Health-Upstate. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Monmouth College in Illinois and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Northwestern University. He then completed his residency in general psychiatry at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine/Palmetto Richland Hospital in Columbia, SC.

    Dr. Clark serves as Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Greenville and Medical Director & Division Chief for Adult Inpatient and Consult-Liaison Services for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Prisma Health.

    In addition to his psychiatric practice, Dr. Clark has held many leadership positions in national organizations including the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Locally he serves on the board of directors for NAMI and Mental Health of America. He has presented on various topics related to health equity, interplay between faith communities and mental health, workforce diversity, micro-aggressions, and the social determinants of mental health.

    Dr. Clark has a strong passion for medical missions and has traveled to numerous countries including Zambia, Ireland, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Canada, and Haiti to serve others medically and spiritually. He considers his faith a significant factor in his success and his practice. Spending time with his family, running, writing poetry, and traveling are three avid interests of his that help him keep balanced. He also has experience in diversity, equity, inclusion, as an author, and serves on several AMA committees and as a member of the Clemson University Center for Research on Health Disparity Executive Advisory Board.

  • Hello! My name is Nina Douge. I am a first year student at Vanderbilt University, studying Elementary Education. I love working as a student, a social activist, and a sister of 5.

    I grew up in New Jersey, moving around a lot before settling again in Pennsylvania a couple years ago. Change of location has been a theme in my education for quite some time, as I moved towns and eventually moved to boarding school in Massachusetts for high school. Experiencing so many people has influenced how I have come to a life of activism. I am now focusing on my undergraduate degree and have started working with Dr. Douge on the What Is Black podcast. I'm super excited to expand my horizons and I hope providing my own version of the Black experience can contribute to the amazing work Dr. Douge has been doing!

  • I am a native Mississippian, and I absolutely love TEACHING and LEARNING! This year, 2020, is the start of my 13th year in public education. I have taught in Georgia, Maryland, New Mexico, and schools in Texas. Thanks to the visionary leadership team at Guinn SPC in Plano, TX, I was chosen to work with high school students who need support to build strength in academic, social, or emotional areas. At Guinn, we uphold “Four Pillars of Achievement” for our scholars: Self-Awareness and Management, Social Awareness and Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making, and Academic Integrity. My content areas include Academic Literacy I – II and English I – IV. Also, I am an experienced curriculum designer, professional development facilitator, mentor teacher, instructional coach, and online and co-seat teacher.

    Away from the world of teaching, I advocate for the rights of children in foster care. And, I serve as a youth leader at my church. Lastly, I am quite proud of my family and the time we spend together traveling, cooking, learning new things, and serving others. Dr. Clark serves as Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Greenville and Medical Director & Division Chief for Adult Inpatient and Consult-Liaison Services for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Prisma Health.

    In addition to his psychiatric practice, Dr. Clark has held many leadership positions in national organizations including the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Locally he serves on the board of directors for NAMI and Mental Health of America. He has presented on various topics related to health equity, interplay between faith communities and mental health, workforce diversity, micro-aggressions, and the social determinants of mental health.

    Dr. Clark has a strong passion for medical missions and has traveled to numerous countries including Zambia, Ireland, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Canada, and Haiti to serve others medically and spiritually. He considers his faith a significant factor in his success and his practice. Spending time with his family, running, writing poetry, and traveling are three avid interests of his that help him keep balanced. He also has experience in diversity, equity, inclusion, as an author, and serves on several AMA committees and as a member of the Clemson University Center for Research on Health Disparity Executive Advisory Board.

  • Angela Shanté Johnson is an award-winning author, poet, writer, editor, and educator. She has a Masters in Elementary Education and an MFA in Creative Writing. In addition to her writing, Angela is an education content writer/editor/creator and curriculum consultant in the subjects of Social Studies and Literacy. She grew up in New York City where she taught in the classroom for over ten years and first fell in love with storytelling. Angela currently lives in southern California where she can be found on any given day with her head in a book. She's excited to bring her love of words to the What is Black advisory board and looks forward to being the book consultant for the site and podcast.

  • Sharon Griffith-Selby, Ed.D is currently a Secondary Literacy Integration Specialist for Durham Public Schools in Durham, NC, where her work supports best practices for effective literacy instruction. Previously, Dr. Griffith taught English Language Arts both in Durham, NC and in New York City. Driven by her passion for public education, Dr. Griffith holds a doctorate in Organizational Leadership with an Emphasis in K-12 Education. She also holds a Masters of Science in Curriculum & Instruction from Fordham University. Currently, Dr. Griffith supports secondary teachers in effective literacy instructional practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Dr. Griffith also serves as an Area Director for the North Carolina Reading Association, an affiliate of the International Literacy Association. She is also a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) and National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). In her spare time, she enjoys her virtual book club and spending quality time with her family.

  • Hello! I am Chynáe Vicks and I am a proud wife, mother, and health educator. I am originally from a small town in Southern New Jersey, but moved to Maryland in 2007 to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Morgan State University. While there, I met my husband and shortly after we graduated, we married. I then pursued a Master of Science degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where I focused my studies in Health Education and Communication, and earned a Certification in Maternal & Child Health. While earning my degree, my husband and I created a beautiful little girl who was born shortly after graduating. (Talk about a busy year!) My family is truly the joy of my life, as well as my motivation for working so diligently in everything that I do both personally and professionally.

    Over the years, I’ve worked in a variety of health settings at both the local and state levels, I am most proud of my work in child & adolescent injury prevention and community health education, particularly among low-income and minority populations. I have also enjoyed educating the community about falls & overall injury prevention, preterm birth, car seat and child passenger safety, safe sleep, and disease prevention.

  • More Information coming soon!