BIPOC Women’s Leadership in Psychology

The TWU BIPOC Women’s Leadership in Psychology is a student-led program with the support of the Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership grant.

The momentum began when Sally Stabb, PhD, presented an open call to the TWU psychology community to develop a leadership project anchored by social justice values. Counseling-psychology doctoral students KaLynn Terrell, Lauren Blossom, Vy Cao-Nguyen and Zonia Huerta met to share their knowledge and experiences with the barriers preventing BIPOC women and folks from attaining graduate degrees and meaningful career potential.

While the applied field of psychology is predominately made of women, the students recognized that the foundation of psychological sciences and the deeply embedded values and practices that dominate the field have largely been the result of the experiences and outlook of White men. They were dismayed that Women of Color remain underrepresented within academia and positions of leadership in the profession. They discussed how barriers to the profession included but are not limited to a lack of financial resources, poor social and professional support, and difficulties navigating instances of racial injustice.

Then they aimed to change that.

Motivated, KaLynn, Lauren, Vy and Zonia crafted eight paid student positions that could ease doctoral students’ funding and mentorship needs, compensate student leaders for their invisible labor and empower graduate students to succeed in their chosen psychology fields. In conjunction with psychologists of color Claudia Porras Pyland, Kimberly Burdine and Marlene Williams and with Stabb, the students developed and launched the BIPOC Women’s Leadership in Psychology program, modeled a model they presented at the 2022 National Multicultural Conference and Summit.

The BIPOC WLP team comprises BIPOC doctoral students and counseling psychologists who have generated workshops, mentorship opportunities, a space for BIPOC vulnerability and collective healing, conferences centering the BIPOC experience and more. To invite a range of perspectives, recruitment of new team members has been open to BIPOC graduate students from counseling psychology, school psychology and psychological science programs.

In the spirit of restorative justice, the BIPOC WLP team is proud to provide support and resources for TWU BIPOC graduate students aiming to work in the field of psychology. We invite others to raise awareness of issues that have a deficit of support and welcome all BIPOC women and folks to become a part of our community!

Principles of Purpose

To centralize, empower, and celebrate BIPOC narratives, knowledge and experiences.

To create opportunities for engagement in personal and professional growth, collaborative mentorship and relational unification.

To provide opportunities for community work and enrichment.

To impart accurate, current and educational information regarding programmatic events and supportive resources.

To foster autonomy in leadership through intentional guidance and commitment to student development.

Page last updated 9:03 AM, December 13, 2022