Authors: Patricia Stone Motes, Andrew Billingsley, Janice P. Rivers, and Chaundrissa Oyeshiku Smith
DR. PATRICIA STONE MOTES is research associate professor at the Institute for Families in Society, University of South Carolina, and the USC Director of the Community Partnerships and Outreach Core for the EXPORT Center, a partnership between the University of South Carolina and Claflin University designed to reduce health disparities in HIV/AIDS and HPV/cervical cancer. Dr. Motes earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Community Psychology from the University of South Carolina and a B.S. degree in Psychology from South Carolina State University. She has more than 20 years of experience in program development, program evaluation, and community-based action research with primary research interests on contextual influences (family, school, community) on youth development. In addition to work in the area of health disparities, Dr. Motes’ recent work focuses on building community collaboratives, the over-representation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system, the role of faith-based organizations in supporting communities, prevention of youth violence, and developing systems of care to promote positive mental health outcomes for children, youth, and their families. She is co-editor of the book, Collaborating with Community-Based Organizations through Consultation and Technical Assistance (2006) published by Columbia University Press.
DR. ANDREW BILLINGSLEY is professor and Senior-Scholar-in-Residence at the Institute for Families in Society, and a professor in the Department of Sociology and the African American Studies Program at the University of South Carolina. He is a former professor of Family Studies at the University of Maryland, president of Morgan State University, and vice president for Academic Affairs at Howard University.
He is author of the new book, Yearning to Breathe Free: Robert Smalls of South Carolina and His Families (2007) and other books including Mighty Like a River: The Black Church and Social Reform (1999) and Climbing Jacob’s Ladder: The Enduring Legacy of the African American Family (1992). He has received the DuBois-Johnson-Frazier Award from the American Sociological Association and the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Association of Black Sociologists.
Dr. Billingsley earned his Ph.D. in Social Policy from Brandeis University, an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Michigan, an M.S.W. in Social Work from Boston University, and a B.A. in Political Science from Grinnell College. He also studied at Hampton University and is a graduate of Parker High School in Birmingham, Alabama. He is married to Judith Crocker Billingsley, a social worker with the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice.
MS. JANICE P. RIVERS is a former research associate at the Institute for Families in Society at the University of South Carolina. Ms. Rivers earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of South Carolina. She has more than 30 years of experience designing and managing criminal justice information, research, and evaluation systems. Previously, she was Deputy Director of Information Resources at the South Carolina Juvenile Justice Programs, Director of Evaluation and Juvenile Justice Programs in the Office of the Governor and the director of Information Technology and Research in the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. Ms. Rivers has conducted research for the National Association of Probation Services as well as the National Association of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
DR. CHAUNDRISSA OYESHIKU SMITH is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Smith received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Morgan State University. After receiving her doctorate in clinical-community psychology from the University of South Carolina, Dr. Smith completed a psychology postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. Her current faculty position is based at Grady Health System, the largest public hospital in Georgia, which primarily serves the state’s indigent populations. Her clinical and research interests have focused on serving the needs of low-income, African American children and their families through the implementation of evidenced-based and culturally sensitive family interventions. Dr. Smith’s other research interests include depression in children and adolescents, racial/ethnic identity development, and family-based interventions for children with chronic illnesses.