Keisha L. Bentley-Edwards

Dr. Bentley-Edwards' research bridges developmental psychology, public health, and community-engaged methodology. Her work connects social contexts such as structural racism to health outcomes, including diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension, depression, and obesity, and she is dedicated to eliminating barriers to healthy birth and pregnancy outcomes. She examines how Black women, girls, and families navigate racialized stress, and reframes resilience as a system-level responsibility rather than an individual trait, emphasizing cultural strengths and the elimination of structural barriers to support healthy development in communities and families.

Dr. Bentley-Edwards has also published and lectured extensively on racial socialization and racial cohesion strategies that facilitate positive outcomes for Black students, as well as on how teacher perceptions and school resources shape disciplinary practices in early childhood education. She is known for developing culturally relevant measures, conducting community-engaged research, and building equity-focused frameworks and methodology. A trusted expert for media, policymakers, and community leaders, her research has been supported by major funders including the National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.