Jioni Lewis
Jioni A. Lewis is an Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Lewis is a leading expert on the impact of systemic racism on the mental and physical health of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Her primary area of research applies intersectionality theory to investigate the influence of racism and sexism (i.e., gendered racism) on Black women’s health and wellbeing. She also examines protective factors that buffer individuals against the harmful effects of racism and sexism, such as radical healing, collective coping, and resistance strategies. Dr. Lewis has received several national awards for her research, teaching, mentoring, and advocacy, including the 2019 Emerging Professional Contributions to Research Award from the American Psychological Association, Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race; and the 2020 Emerging Leader for Women in Psychology Award from the Committee on Women in Psychology. She is Past-President of the Psychology of Black Women, where she served as Lead Coordinator of the Inaugural Psychology of Black Women Conference. Before joining the University of Maryland, Dr. Lewis was an Associate Professor of Psychology and Co-Founding Director of the Critical Race Collective at the University of Tennessee. She received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Lewis’s research, teaching, and advocacy are grounded in her passion and commitment to social justice and equity.