Webinar | Understanding Racism’s Impact on Child Development: Working Toward Fairness of Place in the United States

Our panel of experts across various fields discuss their latest research, exploring how racism gets “under the skin” to impact children’s development as well as contributes to unequal access to opportunity in the places where children live, grow, play, and learn.

Together, the panelists strategize on solutions that promote healthy child development and work to dismantle systemic barriers.

Moderator

Stephanie M. Curenton, PhD

Dr. Curenton is a professor in the Education Leadership and Policy Studies Department at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development and the director of the Center on the Ecology of Early Development (CEED).

Panelists

Nathaniel Harnett, PhD

Dr. Harnett is Director of the Neurobiology of Affective and Traumatic Experiences Laboratory at McLean Hospital and an Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Harnett’s research is focused on understanding the neurobiological mechanisms that mediate susceptibility to trauma and stress-related disorders.

Mavis Sanders, PhD

Dr. Sanders, senior research scholar of Black children and families at Child Trends, leads an applied research agenda that advances racial equity and social justice. Before joining Child Trends in 2021, Dr. Sanders served as a professor of education and affiliate professor in the doctoral program in language, literacy, and culture at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

Natalie Slopen, ScD

Dr. Slopen is an Assistant Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. As a social epidemiologist, her research focuses on social and contextual factors that shape childhood development and inequities in health.