Bridging the Understanding Gap and Building Racial Cohesion
Our Team
Innovative and Creative Minds Seeking to Uncover True Humanity Which Transcends Pigmentation
Andrea M. Peters
Founder
Dr. Andrea M. Peters is a graduate of the University of Miami in Miami, Florida where she earned her doctorate in Industrial Engineering with a focus in Human Factors. She also has degrees ranging from Business Administration to Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Peters' degrees tell a story about who she is as a person and a scholar. She is interested in many areas and she does not shy away from difficult topics. Instead, she runs to them in hopes of solving them and making the world a better place for humanity. She has grit and resolve to learn more about the world around her through a human centered approach. Evident in Dr. Peters' daily routine, she teaches freshmen and junior students in general psychology and anthropometrics and biomechanics respectively. In addition, she has created and serves in multiple capacities within diversity, equity, inclusion, and access initiatives. Feeling the compelling need for change in the USA, Dr. Peters began to actively create and promote equity, inclusion, and access projects for the underserved and underrepresented. Along the same lines and to support her projects, Dr. Peters’ current research focus is female urination in austere environments, female dehydration, and intentional and unintentional learning in locations of financial and educational disparities. She is passionate about her work and is passionate about helping America realize the ideals it espouse toward.
Based on her focus and the ongoing racial uprising and the lack of effective conversations, she and her team listed below created a Dean’s level racial literacy resource that could be leveraged across the organization to improve racial and cultural understanding. This resources is the foundation on which CRIL stands.
Natesha Isabell-Smith
Founder
Dr. Natesha L. Smith is an Army veteran and academic with 15 years of experience in higher education as faculty, administration, and governance. Before transitioning to her current position as the Assistant Director for Education and Operations of the Transitioning Servicemember/Veteran and Suicide Prevention Center (TASC) with the James J. Peters VHA Medical Center in Bronx, NY, she worked in Middle Eastern, East Asian, Caribbean and North American higher education settings. Dr. Smith’s research interests are a reflection of her military service and other cultural immersion experiences. In her research, she has focused on exploring the connections between organizational culture and identity development, as well as areas of global leadership, military career transitions, fostering critical thinking through curriculum design, and the internationalization of higher education. Dr. Smith has been recognized for teaching excellence, innovative project management, and scholarship.
Jessica Gathers
Founder
Jessica Gathers is a graduate of Berkeley College, earning her associates in Paralegal Studies and Bachelors in Justice Studies. After graduation, Jessica has worked for conpanies where her contributions and services could make a difference and have a positive impact on the community and hopefully, the world at large. Throughout her career, Jessica has held varing positions in the pharmaceutical industry where she has taken part in the manufacturing, packaging, and quality analysis of a wide range of life saving vaccines, medications and healthcare products. Additionally, spending some time in the legal field, she worked in regulatory licensing, real estate, civil litigation, and administration. Currently, she works with a higher education organization focused on the behavioral sciences and leadership disciplines. Jessica is responsible for the administration and mangement of the day-to-day operations within the organization. She is committed to supporting the mission to provide leadership growth to all students and faculty and to provide additional development opportunities through suborganizations. Throughout her time in this position, she has utilized her experience and knowledge to improve and add value to the organization. Finally, Jessica had the opportunity to educate others as hard conversations arose concerning George Floyd's murder and the civil unrest. Pulling from her own life experiences as a biracial woman, Jessica became motivated to focus her efforts on the diversity, equity, and inclusion realm.