Washington University in St. Louis (WU)
Sheretta T. Butler-Barnes is an assistant professor in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work. Before coming to Brown, Dr. Butler-Barnes was a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan’s School of Education affiliated with the Center for the Study of Black Youth in Context. Her research interest explores how individual-level factors connected to Black youths’ cultural backgrounds (e.g., internal assets such as racial identity beliefs, religiosity) and ecological risk and resources (community violence, family and peer support) influence their achievement and psychological well-being outcomes. Dr. Butler-Barnes also investigates ways that faith communities support families and how families teach their children about their cultural heritage, examining such constructs as racial socialization and theological orientation within Black Protestant faith communities.