Kamryn S. Morris (she/her) is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar with Innovations for Youth (i4Y) at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Morris earned her Ph.D. in Family and Human Development, where she was a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) T32 Predoctoral Fellow with training in prevention, dissemination, and implementation science. Her research seeks to promote thriving among Black youth through supporting school belonging and improving school climate. Using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, her program of research examines social (e.g., teacher-student relationships) and contextual (e.g., school racial segregation) factors that promote and/or prohibit Black youths’ development of school belonging and subsequent wellbeing. As part of this research, she learns from and amplifies the voices of educators and Black youth to cultivate pathways towards mitigating the pervasive effects of racism (e.g., interpersonal, structural) in schools and communities. Dr. Morris serves as a researcher on the statewide evaluation team of CalHOPE Student Support, which seeks to build statewide infrastructure to promote thriving among California’s learners, teachers, and leaders.
