EDUCATION 

Temple University, College of Liberal Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Ph.D. in African American Studies (High Distinction)

City University of New York- Hunter College, Silberman School of Social Work, New York, NY

Master of Social Work, Organizational Leadership and Management

University of Pennsylvania, College of Arts and Sciences, Philadelphia, PA

Bachelor of Arts, African American Studies and Sociology of Deviance and Law

CERTIFICATIONS

Temple University, College of Liberal Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies

Online Teaching in Higher Education

University of Pennsylvania, School of Public Policy, Philadelphia, PA

Graduate Certification, Executive Leadership in Social Impact Strategy

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

(See more in Appendix A: Public Works & Scholarship and Expanded Professional Experience)

Lesley University, Boston, MA

Adjunct Professor - African American Studies

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

Adjunct Professor – Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies – Douglass Residential College

Delaware County Community College, Media, PA

Curriculum Developer - DEI Certificate Program

Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

Adjunct Professor – African American History & Culture - W.E.B. Du Bois Institute

American Program Bureau. Boston, MA

Public Speaker, Trainer, and Facilitator (DEI, Social Work, Feminism, LGBTQ+ Identity) 

Sankofa Summer School, Philadelphia, PA

Founder, Executive Director

North 10, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Director of Community Partnerships and Strategy

Center for Hunger-Free Communities, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

Anti-Poverty Advocacy Program Director 

Community Access, Inc.- New York, NY

Supportive Housing Program Director 

PUBLICATIONS

Books

Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets (Beacon Press, 2019)

Disrupting the Bystander: When #MeToo Happens Among Friends (Thorntree Press, 2019) Foreword.

Reviews for Reclaiming Our Space:

Madenga, Florence (2020). Review of Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets by Feminista Jones, Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience, Catalyst (San Diego, Calif.), 2020, Vol.6 (1)

The Progressive, Inc. (2019). Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets, Jones, Feminista, The Progressive, 2019, Vol.83 (1), p.65

Featured In:

Oluo, Ijeoma (2024). Be A Revolution: How Everyday People Are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World—and How You Can, Too. New York: HarperOne

Gunnell, Kristine Ashton, Ed. (2023). Voices Of American Women's History From Reconstruction To The Present: Contemporary Accounts Of Daily Life, New York : Bloomsbury Academic & Professional

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Michelle B. Taylor (2024). “Black Women’s Rage As Liberation”. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. Vol. 5, Iss. 1.

Michelle B. Taylor (2024). “There’s No Place Like Home: Ballroom Culture as an Invocation of African Family Values” National Council of Black Studies Annual Report 2024

Michelle B. Taylor (2022). "Teaching to Transgress: Cheikh Anta Diop and the African Intellectual Reformation" Imhotep Research Journal, 28-37

Michelle B. Taylor (2019). “Writing Truth to Power: Women Writers of the Black Arts Movement” The Crisis, Vol. 126, Iss. 4, p. 17

CONFERENCE PAPERS

Michelle B. Taylor. University of Texas - Dallas Global Cinema Symposium (2024). “Black Cinema Matters”: Afrocentric Film Theory & the Future of Cultural Film Analysis. Dallas, TX

Michelle B. Taylor. Temple University Women’s Conference (2024) “Reclaiming Motherhood: How We Can Liberate Black Mamas Via Film & Television”, Philadelphia, PA

Michelle B. Taylor. National Council of Black Studies Annual Conference (2024) “Revolutionary Blueprints: Discovering Ma’aticity in the Combahee River Collective Statement” San Jose, CA 

Michelle B. Taylor. Association of Black Sociologists Annual Conference (served as moderator for the panel “Public Sociology in Relations to Domestic and International Affairs, and Private and Educational Sectors”) (2023) “Sankofa Summer School: Teaching to Transgress Through Afrocentric Education”, Philadelphia, PA

Michelle B. Taylor. Central Pennsylvania Consortium Africana & Women and Gender Studies Conference (2023) “There's No Place Like Home: Ballroom Culture as an Invocation of African Family Values" Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA

HONORS/ AWARDS

·       Future Faculty Fellow (2024) – Flora Stone Mather Center for Women at Case Western Reserve University

·       SAGE Molefi Asante Award (2024)- Presented by SAGE Publications and given to the student with the highest GPA and strongest contributions to the Africana Studies discipline

·       Ankh Maat Wedjau Honor Society (2024) - National Council of Black Studies

·       16 Philadelphia Innovators to Know (2022) - Philadelphia Style

·       Outstanding Faculty (2022) - Temple University

·       Outstanding Academic Achievement Award (2021) - Temple University Department of African American Studies

·       76 Most Influential People in Philadelphia (2020) - Philadelphia Inquirer

·       Bitch 50 (Global Feminists) (2019) - Bitch Magazine

·       100 Most Influential People in Philadelphia (2017) - Philadelphia Inquirer

·       Malcolm X Leadership Award; John Edgar Wideman Writing Prize; W.E.B. DuBois Sociology Award – University of Pennsylvania

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Association of Black Sociologists

National Council of Black Studies

Association for the Study of African American Life and History

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Adjunct Professor, Lesley University

Adjunct Faculty, Rutgers University - New Brunswick

Adjunct Faculty, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, Princeton University

Graduate Teaching Fellow, College of Liberal Arts, Temple University

Instructor of Record:

Mass Media & the Black Community

African American LGBTQ Experience (three sections)

Representing Race (two sections)

The Black Church

Mass Media & the Black Community (two sections)

The Black Woman

Dimensions of Racism

History and Significance of Race in America (four sections)

REFERENCES 

Molefi K. Asante, Ph.D.: molefi.asante@temple.edu

Jennifer Pollitt, Ph.D.: Jennifer.pollitt@temple.edu

Marc Lamont Hill, Ph.D.: mlh@marclamonthill.com

Anthea Butler, Ph.D.: antheadbutler@gmail.com

Nah Dove, Ph.D.: nah.dove@temple.edu 

Maureen Saraco: maureen.saraco@temple.edu

Appendix A: Public Works & Scholarship

Selected Magazine Articles 

2023. “Remembering Dorothy Pitman Hughes, an Icon of Black Feminism” InStyle. https://www.instyle.com/dorothy-pitman-hughes-posthumous-feature-7095830

2021. “When Gabby Petito disappeared, the world watched. Destini Smothers was ignored” The Philadelphia Inquirer. https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/destini-smothers-gabby-petito-missing-black-women-20210929.html

2018. “Breathing While Black" Essence; New York Vol. 49, Iss. 4, pp. 118-119

2017. "How anti-abortion extremists are exploiting #BlackLivesMatter to vilify 

African-American women.” Open Democracy. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/anti-abortion-extremists-exploiting-black-lives-matter/

2016. "We Have Had to Defend Ourselves Against Online Threats.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/08/03/how-to-crack-down-on-social-media-threats/we-have-had-to-defend-ourselves-against-online-threats

2015. "Keep Harriet Tubman – and all women – off the $20 bill.” The Washington Post. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/05/14/keep-harriet-tubman-and-all-women-off-the-20-bill/
2014. "Why Black Women Struggle More with Domestic Violence.” TIME. https://time.com/3313343/ray-rice-black-women-domestic-violence/

Selected Speaking Engagements

Topics: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Intersectional Feminism; Media Representation (Film/ Television); Social Work Research and Practice; LGBTQ identity; Mental Health 

Colorado Legal Services Annual Conference (2024)

University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice ABSW Graduation (2024)

Temple University Lavender Graduation (2024)

National Network of Public Health Institutes (2023)

FGX International (2023)

SXSW (2023 | 2019)

NPR Salute to Martin Luther King, Jr (2023)

Illinois Behavioral Health Conference (2022)

Colorado Health Foundation (2022)

Planned Parenthood (2021)

Society for Social Work & Research (2020)

Vassar Baccalaureate Commencement (2018)

Drexel University Racism in Medicine Conference (2018)

Columbia University Health Disparities (2015)

Stanford University Online Feminism (2014)

Public Activism/ National Media

Creator: Black Women’s History Week (Feb. 25- Mar. 3) – Week of awareness and celebration of Black women’s contributions to history and society

Creator/ Co-Host: Black Girl Missing Podcast – a multi-season podcast dedicated to sharing stories of missing African American girls.

Featured:

VICE News Documentary “When Black Women Go Missing” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31557976/

Creator/ Organizer: You OK Sis? - Global movement to increase awareness about street harassment and educate about bystander intervention

Featured: 

Sarah J. Jackson, Moya Bailey, Brooke Foucault Welles (2020). #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/10858.003.0006

Conley, Tara L. (2017) “Decoding Black Feminist Hashtags as Becoming” The Black Scholar, 2017, Vol.47 (3), p.22-32

Jones, Nikki. (2016) “The Gender of Police Violence” San Francisco: The Institute for Labor and Mental Health, Tikkun, 2016, Vol.31 (1), p.25-28

Oprah Winfrey Network (2019) - https://youtu.be/t7ibwuakjZM

Women’s March: Philadelphia (2017)- Featured Speaker https://youtu.be/k8O1kSg7VJM

C-SPAN (2016): Anti-Poverty Policies in a Trump Administration https://www.c-span.org/video/?419932-1/anti-poverty-policies-trump-administration

Creator/ Organizer: National Moment of Silence (2014) 

Press coverage (100+ articles) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NkG-dOVynKm_8hwRBzVS-PRNaGE7Ky-OahyjV8vYLPE/edit?usp=sharing

Expanded Professional Experience

American Program Bureau

Key Responsibilities:

Provide keynote addresses, facilitate workshops, and conduct trainings at various symposiums and conferences for colleges, universities, non-profit organizations, and corporations.

Topics include:

-       Organizational Leadership: Diversity & Inclusion & Addressing Gender & Racial Bias

-       Intersectional Feminism/Women's Empowerment

-       Social Work: Poverty, Mental Health, Homelessness & Hunger

-       African American LGBTQ Experience

-       Social Media & Social Justice in the 21st Century

Sankofa Summer School

Key Responsibilities:

-       Provide oversight of school operations, including the facilitation of courses and workshops for the annual virtual summer academy.

-       Manage the recruitment and hiring process for instructors, ensuring alignment with program objectives and student needs.

-       Administer student registration processes, maintaining accurate records and facilitating a seamless enrollment experience.

-       Spearhead fundraising initiatives to support program sustainability and expansion, leveraging diverse funding sources.

-       Facilitate the disbursement of scholarships to eligible students, ensuring equitable access to educational opportunities.

-       Supervise administration assistants, providing guidance and support to optimize team performance and efficiency.

North 10, Philadelphia

Key Responsibilities:

-       Contributed as a member of the executive leadership team, providing strategic guidance and operational support to drive organizational objectives forward.

-       Formulated community engagement and partnership strategies to foster collaboration and maximize impact within target communities.

-       Cultivated relationships with local community leaders and government officials to facilitate cooperation and garner support for organizational initiatives.

-       Provided supervision and mentorship to the Education Manager, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and professional development opportunities.

-       Spearheaded fundraising efforts for special projects, leveraging diverse funding streams to sustain programmatic activities and drive growth.

-       Directed the development of revitalization initiatives across four key sectors: education, economic development, housing, and community wellness, to address multifaceted community needs.

-       Planned and executed events aimed at engaging community stakeholders and fostering dialogue to inform programmatic decision-making.

-       Produced comprehensive reports for funders and stakeholders, demonstrating program outcomes and impact to ensure accountability and transparency.

-       Developed community investment portfolios tailored to the interests and priorities of potential funders, facilitating strategic partnerships and resource mobilization efforts.

Drexel University- Witnesses to Hunger

Key Responsibilities:

-       Led structural design and development of policies and procedures, including mission development, to establish a robust organizational framework.

-       Orchestrated the assembly of steering committees and advisory boards, leveraging diverse perspectives to inform strategic decision-making.

-       Negotiated member speaking engagements to amplify organizational presence and advocate for key initiatives.

-       Managed and provided oversight of member-led community advocacy projects, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and objectives.

-       Established and maintained relationships with policy-makers, local, state, and federal legislators, partner organizations, and influential community members to advance organizational interests.

-       Supervised Program Assistant, WorkReady interns, and member interns, fostering a collaborative and supportive work environment.

-       Designed organizational trajectory for nationwide expansion, strategizing pathways to establish presence in all 50 states.

-       Directed brand management and oversight of social media platforms to enhance organizational visibility and engagement with stakeholders.

Community Access, Inc.

Key Responsibilities:

-       Led, administered, and supervised all aspects of the Supportive Housing Program and team, encompassing clinical coordination, facilities management, program budget oversight, and liaison with interdepartmental staff and external stakeholders.

-       Recruited, trained, and managed a diverse team of supportive housing staff, including service coordinators, front desk receptionists, superintendents, and maintenance workers, through regular supervision and training sessions.

-       Developed and oversaw recovery-oriented programs focusing on nutrition, music, art, health, and education, ensuring alignment with the needs and goals of program participants.

-       Designed and supervised on-site vocational, educational, and rehabilitation initiatives aimed at enhancing the well-being and independence of residents.

-       Oversaw the tenant selection process to maintain maximum occupancy of LIHC/Supportive Housing facilities, optimizing resources and support for residents.

-       Managed building and program-related contractor payments and services to ensure efficient operations and adherence to budgetary guidelines.

-       Handled incident management and reporting, preparing detailed reports for internal departments and external agencies as required.

-       Fostered partnerships with local community entities such as community boards, police departments, and healthcare providers to enhance program effectiveness and community integration.

-       Ensured timely completion of all mandated monthly and annual reports for internal departments, external agencies, and funding sources, maintaining compliance with regulatory standards.

-       Provided comprehensive quality assurance oversight to uphold records and activities to the standards stipulated by external funding agencies, advocating for program participants and delivering trauma-informed, person-centered care and crisis intervention as needed.

Volunteer Work

Ennoble Care Network - Volunteer Hospice Support (current)

Lantern Village Theatre – Volunteer Usher