Isabelle Elisha, PhD

Dr. Isabelle Elisha is the Associate Director for the Psychology Program at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. Prior to joining CUNY SPS, Dr. Elisha was a full-time faculty member at Middlebury College. She also taught within the CUNY system at New York City College of Technology and Kingsborough Community College while completing her PhD in Psychology with a specialization in Developmental Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center. Dr. Elisha also has an MA in Human Development from Cornell University and a BA in Liberal Arts from Eugene Lang College.

Her research focuses on cultural and contextual influences on children’s and adolescents’ developmental trajectories with a strong emphasis on the roles of race, ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status. The goal of her work is to promote empirically-based solutions that meaningfully address the negative impact of discrimination, inequality, and injustice on young people's well-being. Her current projects examine Black youth’s civic engagement and community participation.