Lakersha (Kersha) Smith

Kersha Smith, PhD, is an Associate Professor in psychology with concentrations in African American and epistemological studies.  Her primary research investigates critical knowledge. Kersha is the co-editor of a collection of narrative essays titled Uncommon Bonds: Women Reflect on Race and Friendship and the forthcoming Black Heirlooms: The Unbroken Narratives of African American Families.  She has been published in various journals such as Pedagogy, Culture & Society, Journal of Narrative Politics, and The Journal of Social Issues.  She is a recipient of the Andrew W. Mellon/ American Council of Learned Societies Faculty Fellowship and the Spencer Foundation’s Discipline-Based Studies in Education Fellowship.  In addition, she received CUNY’s Community College Collaborate Grant, the Calvin W. Ruck Award, which recognizes scholars committed to social justice, and The Larry Murphy Award by the Adult Higher Education Alliance for her work on transformative learning in non-traditional student populations.