Dr. Beverly-Jean Daniel (Toronto Metropolitan University)  

Dr. Daniel is an Associate Professor in the School of Child and Youth Care at Toronto Metropolitan University and a leading Canadian scholar on Black youth experiences and racial identity development. Her groundbreaking research on "racial oases" provides critical frameworks for understanding how Black youth navigate predominantly white educational spaces and the importance of culturally affirming environments. Dr. Daniel's work on The Bridge Program demonstrates how narrative-based interventions can recast Blackness, foster resilience, and support transformative resistance among Black youth.  

Dr. Aisha N. Griffith (University of Illinois, Chicago) 

Dr. Griffith is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois, Chicago, specializing in the experiences of Black adolescent girls. As a Black woman scholar, Dr. Griffith brings essential expertise on intersectionality, gendered racism, and youth identity development. Her research has documented how Black girls experience gendered racism in schools---being simultaneously hypersexualized, seen as needing less nurturing, and punished for subjective judgments of disrespect based on White notions of femininity. Dr. Griffith is a co-author of the Equity Model of Youth Mentoring and has published extensively on the school experiences of Black girls, critical consciousness, and positive youth development.

Dr. Kristian Jones (University of Washington)  

Dr. Jones is an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington in the School of Social Work. His program of research examines how youth mentoring relationships can be utilized to prevent adverse outcomes and promote positive strengths for marginalized young people, with a focus on Black young people. As a Black male scholar, his research is grounded in his passion for equity, specifically as it relates to marginalized youth and their families. He examines cross-racial mentoring relationships, particularly between White mentors and Black youth, and explores the reciprocal benefits and challenges in these relationships. Dr. Jones's work centers on anti-racism, cultural humility, and the role of mentoring in promoting positive development among minoritized youth. 

Dr. Bernadette Sánchez (University of Illinois, Chicago)  

Dr. Sánchez is the President's Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Learning in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is one of the leading scholars on the roles of race, ethnicity, and culture in youth mentoring relationships and programs. Her research has examined the role of mentoring in adolescents' ethnic/racial identity, how racial processes (e.g., racial discrimination, cultural mistrust) influence mentoring relationships, and the impact of cultural humility trainings on volunteer mentors.  

Dr. Bukola Salami (University of Calgary)  

Dr. Salami is a Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Black and Racialized Peoples Health. Dr. Salami's research program focuses on policies and practices shaping migrant and Black people's health. She has led research projects on topics including Black youth mental health, culturally appropriate practices for research with Black Canadians, and parenting practices of African immigrants. Dr. Salami founded the Black Youth Mentorship and Leadership Program, a unique university-based mentoring program for adolescents launched in 2020.   

Dr. Gbenga Adejare (University of Calgary) 

Dr. Adejare is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Calgary. Dr. Adejare is a decolonial scholar with extensive ongoing and completed research in the social context of Blackness. He has developed an advanced-topic course in this area and employs multiple ways of knowing to unpack intricate relational issues related to inequality, poverty, and various developmental contexts. In addition, Dr. Adejare actively mentors participants in the Black Youth Leadership and Mentorship Program at the University of Calgary. 

Dr. Thomas Keller (Portland State University) 

Dr. Keller is a Professor at Portland State University and the founder of the Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring and the Center for Interdisciplinary Mentoring Research. His research focuses on the development and influence of youth mentoring relationships and the evaluation of mentoring program innovations. 

Dr. Véronique Church-Duplessis (Mentor Canada) 

Dr. Church-Duplessis is the Senior Director of Research and Impact at Mentor Canada, leading their research on effective and equitable mentoring. She focuses on building connections between research and practice to enhance the evidence base for mentoring in Canada.