Dr. Erin M. Stephens is a Black feminist sociologist and educator who engages an intersectional analysis in her work and in her research. She has 17 years of experience advocating for social and institutional change to better meet the needs of marginalized populations, particularly women and youth of color. Alongside her commitment to social justice, her expertise in research, education, and facilitation has provided her the opportunity to contribute to a wide range of projects, such as designing programs to support the varied experiences of women students in higher education, writing and implementing curriculum to support youth development, researching gender pay inequity, and working on various health initiatives. She brings her experience in program development, gender justice, youth development, research and assessment to her role as the Program Director for The Beautiful Project, an arts-based collective in North Carolina that uses photography, writing, and care to advance the wellness and representational justice of Black women and girls. Erin’s expertise as a sociologist and advocate offers strategic insight to institutions committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Erin has a Ph.D. in Sociology from George Mason University, an MPH in Health Education and Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her B.A. in Anthropology at Davidson College. Her most recent research used social media ethnography and network analysis to examine the emotional demands and consequences of Black online activism in the Movement for Black Lives. Her work can be found in the edited volumes Gender in the Twenty-First Century: The Stalled Revolution and the Road to Equality (2017; edited by Shannon N. Davis, S. Winslow and D.J. Maume) and Women, War, and Violence: Topography, Resistance, and Hope (2015; edited by Mariam R. Kurtz and Lester R. Kurtz).