Prof. Seanna (Shawna) Leath is an applied developmental psychologist and community-engaged scholar whose research examines how cultural, social, and structural contexts shape the health, wellbeing, and thriving of Black youth, families, and communities. Grounded in Black feminist thought and developmental science, her work explores how identity, relationships, educational environments, and community systems influence resilience, healing, and opportunity across the lifespan.
She directs the Fostering Healthy Identities and Resilience (FHIRe) Collaborative, an interdisciplinary research lab where students and community partners work together to advance scholarship that is rigorous, collaborative, and socially meaningful. Rather than conducting research on communities, the FHIRe Collaborative partners with Black girls, women, families, educators, and community organizations to co-create knowledge that can inform research, practice, and policy.
The lab uses qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods to study topics including Black girls' and women's thriving, family relationships, racial and gender socialization, educational equity, mental health, food justice, and community wellbeing. Across projects, the team is committed to translating research into accessible resources through community reports, workshops, public scholarship, StoryMaps, and other forms of dissemination that extend beyond academic journals.
Above all, the FHIRe Collaborative believes that excellent science and relational care belong together - and that research should contribute to the flourishing of the communities it serves.
To learn more about our current projects, publications, and opportunities to get involved, visit fhirelab.orgor @FHIRECOLLAB
Selected Publications:
- Leath, S., Scott, E. D., Arthur, S., Quiles-Kwock, T., Doolin, M., & Debreaux M. (2026). Political imagination as a Black family process: A poetic storytelling study of Black parents’ dreams for Black girls. Journal of Black Psychology, 0(0), 1-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/00957984261439625
- Leath, S., Latimer, A., Inniss-Thompson, M. N., Seward, M. D., & Ball, P. J. (2025). The pressure to be perfect: Stereotype management, (mal?) adaptive perfectionism and well-being among Black college women attending predominantly White institutions. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 49(2), 182–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843251329013
- Leath, S., Mims, L., & Butler-Barnes, S. (2025). Addressing anti-blackness in educationthrough psychological approaches to racial and radical healing Current Directions in Psychological Science, 34(1), 12-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/096372142412831822023
- Leath, S., Onuoha, A., Mims, L., Quiles, T., Jones, M., Inniss-Thompson, M. (2023). A Black feminist study of freedom, community care, and self-definition among Black college women attending PWIs. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000490