The Amplifying Black Fathers Research Lab
Brianna P. Lemmons, Ph.D, MSW
Dr. Lemmons is an Assistant Professor in the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work at Baylor University. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Spelman College and her Master of Social Work and Doctorate in Social Work from Howard University. Her current research focuses on predictors of Black father involvement with children, the role of Black fathers in child development and well-being, the impact of fathering on Black male development, the structure and functioning of Black families, and the integration of fatherhood content in social work education.
Rachel Ghosh
Rachel Ghosh is a fourth-year doctoral student in Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at the University of Maryland. She received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan, with a minor in Community Action and Social Change. Her current research focuses on ethnic-minority fathers, father-child relationships, and the impacts of father involvement on children’s social and emotional development throughout the lifespan. She is also interested in programs and policy that promote healthy development and resilience among low-income children, fathers, and families.
Brandie Bentley
Brandie Bentley is a doctoral student in the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. She earned her MSW from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and previously earned a BSW from Eastern Michigan University. Brandie’s current research addresses health inequities, specifically focusing on the experiences of people with disabilities. Through exploring the complex intersection of race and disability, she seeks to understand how social determinants of health play out in systems, such as public health service settings, for Black families. As an extension of this work, her research also focuses on fathers’ role in promoting positive maternal and child health outcomes.
Sarai Muniz
Saraí Muñiz is in her final year of her MSW and previously finalized an MDIV at Baylor University. She received her BA in History with a double minor in Religion and Speech Communication from East Texas Baptist University. Her current research interest is the impact of social welfare on multiple populations, including fathers and immigrants. She is interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in social work specializing in policy administration.
Grace Dennis
Bio Coming Soon!
Kelley Hollie
Bio Coming Soon!
OUR CURRENT PROJECTS
THE FATHERHOOD HEALTH & ATTITUDES SURVEY
The Father Health and Attitudes Survey Project (FHAS) is a collaborative and interdisciplinary research project that seeks to obtain data from a nationally representative sample of fathers (n=500), with an oversampling of Black fathers. This project is designed to recruit fathers as the direct respondent as much of the existing data on fatherhood has been obtained from mothers as the direct respondent. In addition, this project intentionally incorporates a focus on health and mental health related variables (i.e., depressive symptoms, barriers to help seeking, physical health), as well as those variables that tend to be understudied among fathers in national studies (i.e., forgiveness, anger, intrinsic spirituality, race-related stress, work-related stress).
THE FOLLOWING YOUNG FATHERS FORWARD PROJECT
The Following Young Fathers Forward (FYFF) Project is a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and international research project that focuses on international, comparative qualitative inquiry into the lives and support needs of young fathers, ages 18-25.
THE INTEGRATION OF FATHERHOOD CONTENT INTO SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION
The Integration of Fatherhood Content Into Social Work Education Project seeks to promote the integration of fatherhood content into social work curricula, particularly in core courses, such as HBSE, Direct Practice, and Policy. The inclusion of such content is intended to increase social workers’ skills and ability to more effectively engage with fathers in practice settings.
BLACK FATHER INVOLVEMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROJECT
In collaboration with Children’s Home and Aid (a community-based organization in Chicago, IL), the goal of this project is to explore barriers and facilitators to the involvement of African American fathers in early childhood education and to make recommendations for curriculum development to increase fathers’ involvement, thereby improving the educational outcomes of their children.
