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Nailah A. Johnson is a doctoral student in developmental psychology, working with Dr. Misha Ailsworth in the Black Girl Visions Collaborative (BGVC). She is an alumna of Spelman College, where she earned degrees in Psychology (B.A.) and French (B.A.). As a Ph.D. student, she studies Black adolescent girls’ identity development, with her recent projects focusing on how supportive environments and people can help Black girls cultivate pride in their gendered racial identity.

I am a professor in the Department of Psychology, director of the Purpose Science and innovation Exchange and co-founder of Purpose Commons. I received my B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and my Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Florida International University. I completed my postdoctoral training within the Multicultural Research Institute at the University of Notre Dame.

My research follows two paths. The first investigates why having a sense of self-direction – or purpose