Dr. Meria Carstarphen has more than 20 years of transformational leadership and executive management experience in education, with a track record of dramatically improving student and organizational outcomes. Nationally recognized as a successful and experienced public education leader skilled at managing billion-dollar organizations efficiently and effectively, her collective impact spans over 800,000 students, more than 20,000 employees and hundreds of schools. Over her career, she has served as teacher and administrator, and, in the role of superintendent, led the major metropolitan American public school districts including Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; and Saint Paul, Minnesota. Most recently, she joined Gallup as a Senior Scientist, their first ever in education.

Most recently, Morgan State University in Maryland has appointed her as the inaugural director of the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED). In this role, her primary objective is to research and solve longstanding inequities in education for our most vulnerable and disenfranchised student groups so they can have choice-filled lives. Dr. Carstarphen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and Spanish from Tulane University, Master of Education degrees from Harvard University and Auburn University graduate schools, and a doctorate in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy with a concentration in urban superintendency from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has also studied at the University of Seville, Spain, and the University of Innsbruck, Austria.

Dr. Carstarphen has experience in research, journalism, and documentary photography. She is a recovering marathon runner and a dedicated mentor to many.  She hails from Selma, Alabama, where she was born and raised in a family of four girls.

Dr. Willie E. May serves as vice president for research and economic development at Morgan State University where he has been working aggressively to increase the quality and quantity research outputs, facilitate increased entrepreneurship and tech transfer and better connect research across Maryland’s preeminent public urban research university to community needs.

He previously served as the Senate-confirmed Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology. In this role, May provided high-level oversight and day-to-day leadership for the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). He began his career as a bench chemist at NIST/NTIS and went on to work at every management level within the organization. His personal research activities were focused on the areas of trace organic analytical chemistry and the determination of physico-chemical properties of organic compounds, and his work is described in more than 100 peer-reviewed technical publications.

May served as 2024 President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is a member of the board of directors for Consumer Reports, a member of the board of visitors for the University of Maryland College Park’s College of Computer, Math and Natural Sciences, and a member of Google’s Public Sector Research Technology Board. He has previously served in numerous other leadership positions including vice president of the International Committee on Weights and Measures and president of the Consultative Committee on Metrology in Chemistry and Biology.

May has been awarded numerous awards and honors, including the American Chemical Society’s Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Analytical Chemistry Award and the American Chemical Society’s Public Service Award. In 2015, he was recognized as the federal government’s “Top Chemist” by Chemical and Engineering News Magazine and in 2016, as the Federal Laboratory Consortium’s “Laboratory Director of the Year.” May is an honorary fellow of both the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He is a member of the National Science Board’s class of 2024-2030.

Dr. May earned his Ph. D. in Chemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park. His numerous honors include American Chemical Society Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Analytical Chemistry Award; Department of Commerce Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal Awards; Arthur Flemming Award for Outstanding Federal Service; National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award; and the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) Percy Julian, and Henry Hill Awards for outstanding contributions in Chemistry.

Dr. Pooya Almasi is an Assistant Professor of Quantitative Methodology in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership, and Policy at Morgan State University and the faculty research methodologist for the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED). He holds a PhD in Economics from Georgetown University.

As an empirical economist, Dr. Almasi’s research focuses on the economics of education, labor economics and public economics. He applies quantitative methods to analyze and evaluate educational programs and policies, with a strong focus on equity and impact. In his research on educator labor markets, Dr. Almasi explores the career mobility of teachers and principals by analyzing factors such as retention, attrition, salary, and job transitions to better understand workforce dynamics in education. His work on school finance advocates for the equitable allocation of resources by analyzing funding mechanisms and evaluating local and state education policies to ensure fair distribution across districts and schools. Additionally, Dr. Almasi explores student learning and outcomes in both K-12 and higher education, assessing how various instructional approaches and academic policies impact student success in both the short and long term.

Dr. Leslie A. Anderson is an Assistant Professor of Family & Consumer Sciences and a licensed marriage and family therapist with over 10 years of clinical experience, primarily serving Black youths and families. As research faculty for The National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED), she conducts research on the social and emotional learning and psychological well-being of both children and adults. Dr. Anderson earned her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science, with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy, from the University of Georgia.

As a scholar-practitioner, Dr. Anderson’s program of research focuses on the intersection of Black familial processes, race and racism, and psychological well-being. Specifically, she investigates how racial socialization and a positive racial identity act as protective factors against racial harm and injury.

Her research has been published in the Journal of Family Theory and Review, the Journal of Black
Psychology, Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, the Journal of Research on Adolescence, the Journal of Social Issues and others. Dr. Anderson also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Family Theory and Review and Family Process, and she reviews for numerous other academic journals.

A cornerstone of Dr. Anderson’s scholarship is her commitment to amplifying the voices of underserved and historically excluded communities while centering their lived experiences. She is currently part of a multi-institutional research team conducting a longitudinal project funded by the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) that aims to identify risk and protective factors for suicidality among young Black children in early and middle childhood.

Matt Bolling is a graduate of the University of Baltimore, with a B.S. in Corporate Communications, and a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Following a stint in advertising, he has worked in events and operations since 2010. Transitioning to higher ed in 2014 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMBC), Matt has managed venues, audio-visual equipment and event staff. He additionally managed the visitor center at Homewood campus for Johns Hopkins University, coordinating campus visits and admissions events for thousands of annual visitors.

Since 2019 Matt has managed venues and event planning at UMBC, supervising a team of coordinators who manage over 20,000 event reservations per year. Matt is a native of Baltimore, an avid reader, and loves spending time outdoors.

Dr. Bryant Best is an Assistant Professor of Urban Education and research faculty for The National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED). His interdisciplinary research explores the intersections of race, policy, and public education, with a particular focus on reparative justice, community engagement, and the cultural politics of schooling. Dr. Best earned his Ph.D. in Justice & Diversity in Education from Vanderbilt University, and he brings extensive experience as both an independent education consultant and former policy advisor focused on equity and racial justice in K–12 and higher education.

As a scholar-practitioner, Dr. Best’s research examines how race-conscious policies—and their absence—shape educational access, harm, and/or opportunity for Black students and communities. His work spans multiple domains, including the mechanisms and outcomes of school discipline disproportionality, cultural humility, and the role of cultural expression, such as those found within hip-hop, gaming, and sports culture, in public policy discourse and grassroots efforts in Black communities. He is especially interested in how public systems operationalize or undermine justice through formal policy and legal frameworks, as well as how community-centered social movements can counteract those measures.

Dr. Best’s work has been featured in venues such as Race & Ethnicity in Education, Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, and Language Arts, among others. A cornerstone of Dr. Best’s scholarship is his commitment to amplifying the voices of historically excluded communities through participatory and culturally grounded methods. He is also developing a new research agenda on gaming and digital culture as vehicles for educational equity and STEM engagement.

Dr. Tajma Cameron is an Assistant Professor of Science Education at Morgan State University and research faculty for the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED).

A recent graduate of Drexel University (2024), Dr. Cameron brings both academic expertise and teaching experience, having served as adjunct faculty at Temple University. Her research centers on integrating culturally affirming and creative instructional strategies into STEM education—specifically to support Black girls’ sense of belonging, ownership, and empowerment in these fields.

Walter Fields is the founder of the Black Parents Workshop, Inc., a not-for-profit parents advocacy organization based in South Orange-Maplewood, NJ that championed a landmark federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Black students in the local school district. Walter previously served as Director of Public Affairs for the New York Trial Lawyers Association, and Vice President for Government Relations for the Community Service Society in New York City. Upon his relocation to Maryland, he has assumed the role of Co-Chairperson of the Advisory Council Strong Schools Maryland, a statewide education equity advocacy organization. In addition, he serves on the Board of Child First Authority, an organization that sponsors in-school and out-of-school programming at twelve Baltimore City community schools. In the past, Walter was a Member of the Prince George’s County (MD) Board of Education, appointed by County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, and served as the Chair of the Policy and Governance Committee.  He served for many years on the Board of the New Jersey State Conference of the N.A.A.C.P. and was the organization’s political director.

His background also includes work as an award-winning journalist and experience in every medium of journalism – daily press, magazines, radio, television, and Internet news. He was hired by NBC News as an original political contributor on the MSNBC Cable News Channel and for MSNBC.com, contributor to National Public Radio (NPR), news anchor on WRKS “KISS-FM” in New York City, Contributing Editor to New Jersey Reporter Magazine, and Publisher of City Limits Magazine in New York City. Walter Fields has also been a strong advocate for diversity in media and accountability in reporting. Walter has also been an adjunct professor in political science at Montclair State University and a Visiting Lecturer in public policy at Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo, Japan.  Walter has consulted on projects in Japan, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland.

As the publisher of City Limits Magazine in New York City, Walter commissioned a special edition on the status of Black men in the city that won a New York City Deadline Club award for reporting on minority issues. His work in New York City also focused on the formerly incarcerated and reentry. It resulted in his establishing the New York City Reentry Roundtable and designing the New York Prison Telephone Campaign, both efforts to restore families with a focus on Black men.

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.

Dr. Simone Gibson currently serves as the Assistant Director for Literacy at the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED) and holds the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Morgan State University. Before transitioning to teacher education, Dr. Gibson gained extensive experience as a classroom educator in Howard County, Baltimore City, and Prince George’s County Public Schools. In her present role as a literacy specialist, she focuses her research and professional development efforts on equipping both pre-service and in-service teachers with the skills to integrate culturally humble and evidence-based practices into literacy instruction. Dr. Gibson has contributed to the academic field through the publication of numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Sungmin Moon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Professional Development within the School of Education and Urban Studies, as well as the Assessment and Evaluation Specialist at the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED). He previously served as a Senior Research Fellow and Program Evaluator for the NIH-funded BUILD PODER program at California State University, Northridge, which aims to diversify the biomedical and STEM workforce. Additionally, he led an NSF grant-funded research project at the University of Washington, Seattle, focusing on advancing the implementation of evidence-based active learning practices in STEM courses.

Dr. Moon received his B.S. degree from Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea. He earned an M.A. in Instructional Leadership, along with Professional Clear Single Subject Teaching Credentials (Mathematics and Science–Physics), from Pepperdine University. He obtained his Ph.D. in STEM Education with a concentration in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2018.

His research centers on social justice and eliminating disparities within communities. In his current role, he oversees the collection of course-level data for annual accreditation reports, monitors data gathering processes to support accreditation and program improvement, and assists faculty with assessment data collection.

Dr. Elizabeth Holliday Morgan, is a passionate educator, researcher, and advocate for disability rights and inclusion, is committed to empowering BIPOC mothers and ensuring equitable access to services for their children. Her dedication began during her tenure as a K-12 teacher and administrator.

As an Associate Professor in Morgan State University’s Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership, and Policy and research faculty for the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED), Dr. Morgan strives to amplify marginalized voices through impactful community-based applied research projects and to prepare the next generation of educational leaders and disability rights advocates.

Dr. Barrett Rosser is an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education and Professional Development at Morgan State University and a research faculty for the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED). A proud HBCU alumna, Dr. Rosser earned her degree in English Education from North Carolina A&T State University and her Master’s in Educational Leadership, Management, and Policy from Seton Hall University. She later earned her Ed.D. in Reading, Writing, and Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania.

Rosser’s research sits at the intersection of Black Feminist Practitioner Research, practitioner inquiry, and literacy, with a focus on love as a foundation for educational transformation. She examines how teachers adopt inquiry-based approaches to engage critically with their practice, particularly through writing and justice-oriented reflection, and how Black girls use literacy as a means of self-love, identity development, and critical consciousness. Across these contexts, she investigates writing as a relational and liberatory practice that nurtures growth, challenges dominant narratives, and reimagines education as a space of collective possibility.

Dr. Rosser is a recipient of the AERA Out-of-School Time Emerging Scholar Award, the Ralph C. Preston Award for Social Justice, and the Philadelphia Writing Project Award for Outstanding Commitment to Practitioner Inquiry. Her work has been published in English Journal and Excellence and Equity in Education, and her research has been supported by grants from the Spencer Foundation, the McDonnell Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Her scholarship is deeply rooted in a commitment to amplifying the voices and creative contributions of historically marginalized communities, particularly Black girls and women. She emphasizes lived experience as a crucial site of knowledge production. She is currently involved in a collaborative research-practice partnership examining how teachers utilize archival inquiry to co-design curricula that recover and elevate Black Philadelphia histories.

Ms. Sirina Sucklal has over 15 years of grant writing experience and has served as a reviewer with the federal government as well as the state of Maryland. While Ms. Sucklal has worked in industry, academia, and the nonprofit sectors, she has focused her volunteer work primarily on helping students who are the most vulnerable and underrepresented in our school systems in addition to counseling clients within the Greater Baltimore region on starting and expanding businesses. Ms. Sucklal has written numerous grants to fund programs focused on increasing the number of minorities, women, and people with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs, specifically Robotics and Cyber Security. She has published articles on the application of STEM within our communities and the results of minority students’ participation in STEM programs.

Ms. Sucklal’s work reflects her ability to establish and maintain communication with federal, state, county, and school officials to ensure compliance with rules and regulations, accessing information and submitting documentation upon request. She possesses strong research, organizational, record keeping and time management skills as well as the acumen to work independently and/or as part of a team to conduct complex assignments as well as exercising discretion in decision making based on best practices, technical expertise, and professionalism. Ms. Sucklal is a solution-oriented individual, who assesses each problem independently and widely for solutions. She has a J.D. in Law, M.Sc. in Information Technology and a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Psychology.

Dr. Sharde Theodore is an Assistant Professor at Morgan State University and research faculty for the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED). She brings nearly a decade of experience across the educational spectrum, from classroom instruction to federal education policy, driven by a deep commitment to equity and inclusion in special education. A proud alumna of a HBCU, Dr. Theodore earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, with a concentration in Special Education, from North Carolina A&T State University. She went on to teach kindergarten through third grade in Miami, Florida, while simultaneously earning a Master’s degree in Special Education from Florida International University. Her commitment to driving change in education led her to deepen her research expertise by earning an Education Specialist degree in Teaching and Learning, followed by a Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning with a concentration in Special Education, both from Florida International University. Prior to her current role, Dr. Theodore served as an Education Program Specialist at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs. In this position, she applied her expertise as an educator, scholar, and researcher to support national initiatives aimed at improving outcomes for students with disabilities.

Dr. Theodore’s research agenda centers on eliminating educational disparities for marginalized students with disabilities and strengthening the recruitment, preparation, and retention of diverse special education personnel. She is especially committed to bridging research, policy, and practice to cultivate inclusive, culturally affirming learning environments for marginalized students with disabilities.

Dr. Darryl L. Williams has more than 30 years of educational leadership and coaching in education, with experience in Washington, DC, and Maryland. He served in urban and suburban school systems and served as a mentor and coach to many. During his career, he has served as mathematics teacher, principal of a middle school, and two high schools with a student population that was over 2200 students. In his role as a central office administrator and superintendent, he served and led in the largest and third largest school systems in Maryland. His focus was on student achievement, teacher and principal pipeline, community partnerships and family engagement, school and system budgets. He served as the secretary for one year for PSSAM – Public School Superintendent Association of Maryland, and a member of AASA – The School Superintendent Association and Large Countywide and Suburban District Consortium. He finished his four year contract as superintendent in 2023.

In August 2023, Morgan State University in Maryland appointed him as a Professor of Practice and Program Director of the Admin 1 & MS Program in Educational Administration and Supervision. In addition, he was hired as the assistant director of the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED) focusing on urban teacher and leader recruitment and retention. He also has an interest in leadership positions for women and Black males. Dr. Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Hampton University (VA), a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from American University (DC), and a Doctor of Education in Education Policy and Leadership from University of Maryland College Park (MD).

He has experience in school improvement, middle school reform, and coaching. He is an avid musician and served as Minister of Music. He loves watching sports and action movies, and spending time with his family. He hails from Washington, DC and was the first graduating class of Benjamin Banneker Academic HS.