We welcome our final speaker of the semester as Dr. Wanda Johnson gives a talk titled "What Happens When Black Women Are Heard? Rethinking Belonging, Support, and Success in Higher Education."

Dr. Wanda L. Johnson is a scholar-practitioner whose research examines student success, belonging, and the lived experiences of Black women in higher education. Grounded in Black Feminist Thought, Endarkened Feminist Epistemology, and qualitative inquiry, her scholarship explores how identity, institutional culture, and community shape students' educational experiences. She is particularly interested in translating research into practice to inform institutional policies, programs, and strategies that promote student success and organizational effectiveness.

Her award-winning dissertation, Still, I Rise: Using Sista Circles to Explore the Lived Experiences of Black Women Who Attend(ed) Historically White Institutions as Undergraduates, received the 2024 Dissertation of the Year Award from the Southern Association for College Student Affairs (SACSA). Employing Sista Circle methodology and critical narrative inquiry, the study examined how Black undergraduate women experienced success, support, and belonging while navigating historically White institutions.