Dr. Afiya Fredericks is an Associate Professor in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership, and Policy and research faculty for the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED).  As a developmental psychologist and proud double HBCU alumnae (University of the Virgin Islands, BA; Howard University, MS, PhD), her work centers on advancing equity in education, particularly within Minority Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Her research examines how beliefs about intelligence and ability shape faculty behavior, student motivation, and persistence in STEM, with a special focus on HBCU contexts.  She is the recipient of the prestigious NSF CAREER Award ($1.6 million) and has secured nearly $3 million in research funding to support work that amplifies the voices and experiences of HBCU students, faculty, and institutions.

Prior to academia, Dr. Fredericks served as Director of Professional Learning, Implementation & Research at Mindset Works, a company co-founded by Dr. Carol Dweck, where she led mindset-based program implementations nationwide.  She continues to translate research into practice through partnerships that drive sustainable change.

She has held competitive fellowships, including appointments as a CASBS Institute on Diversity at Stanford University (2023 & 2025), a Donald D. Harrington Faculty Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin (2023–2024), a Quantitative Research Methods for STEM Education (QRM) Fellow at the University of Maryland, College Park (2021-2022) and as a Research Fellow with the Center for the Advancement of STEM Leadership (CASL, 2020–2025).

Dr. Fredericks brings her whole self to this work: scholar, teacher, mentor, learner. She is a proud US Virgin Islander who finds joy in returning to her home island of St. Croix, and in mentoring the next generation of equity-driven scholars.