Dr. Donnamaria Culbreth
The Community Trailblazer
Dr. Culbreth is passionate about being a part of the change needed in society with a focus on empowering people to reach higher ground. Her projects and interests include topics that are complex in nature because she believes that not only dialogues, but initiatives, strategies, programs, etc., must be developed to address the plethora of societal ills. She focuses on colorism racism, identity, racial unity, issues affecting girls and women of color, people of color, mixed race identity, quality education (including closing the achievement gap for students of color), equality, justice for all, personal enrichment, diversity, defying stereotypes and breaking down skin color and racial barriers, and biased standards of beauty that continue to ignore the diversity of girls and women of color. Through projects and research she addresses a plethora of issues that continue to stagnate the psychological, emotional, physical and social well-being and growth of people of color. She believes that the key to change is unity and embracing all people regardless of where they come from, how they look, education level, socioeconomic status, national origin, gender, race, color, sexual orientation, religion, or other status. "We must realize that a “change will only come when we stand together as one” (Jackson and Richie, 1985).
Dr. Culbreth is the Executive Producer and Host of Complexity Talk Radio - Complexity Live, Founder and CEO of the Intraracial Colorism Project, Inc., Founder and CEO of I Am Beautiful Global, Inc., Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Colorism Studies, Founder and President of Complexity Publishing, LLC, and Founder of Fabulously Fifty Women of Color. Recently, she created the National Girls and Women of Color Council, Inc. (NGWCC) which will be a worldwide organization for women and girls of color. The mission of NGWC is to bring together girls and women of color to address race, color, collaborate, share, discuss, and take action to eliminate the numerous barriers that continue to affect the psychological, emotional, physical and social growth and well-being of women and girls of color. NGWCC will officially launch in 2015. Her latest project is the Unity Train, created to foster racial unity among all people.
The Educator
Dr. Culbreth has worked in higher education for 15 years holding various positions including Vice President of Operations, Assessment & Institutional Research, Director of Assessment, Director of Curriculum, Assistant Director of Curriculum, Faculty Mentor, Instructor, Course Developer, Subject Matter Expert, and Adjunct professor. Presently, Dr. Culbreth is an Assistant Professor.
As an educator, Dr. Culbreth believes that students should be afforded every opportunity to obtain a quality education. Through teaching, mentoring, guiding and advising, etc. she focuses on student success by ensuring that each student’s educational experience is unique and rewarding. Through the development and implementation of Dr. Culbreth’s CLARE Concept, she has been instrumental in helping numerous students reach higher ground as critical thinkers, capable of applying logic, analytical and reasoning skills, along with ethics. Her Student Success Plan has been a valuable tool for students to help identify their academic, career and personal goals. She also created S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Mentoring, a group created to support students as they travel on their educational journeys.
In the classroom, Dr. Culbreth focuses on using innovative technology, developing academically rich curriculum, projects, assignments, and other assessments. She believes that students should develop and apply critical thought processes, think out of the box, develop college-level writing skills, demonstrate that they understand and can apply learning concepts, theories and terms to the real world as well as develop the knowledge, skills and abilities that will enable them to hit the ground running, obtain and retain employment.
The Business Professional
Professionally, Dr. Culbreth is a managing partner at Culbreth, Jung & Severino, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in colorism, race, diversity, education, management and human resource management. Dr. Culbreth's experiences include over 15 years working with clients throughout the United States and internationally.
As a business consultant, areas of expertise include colorism, racial complexity and unity, performance management, human resource management, training and development, administrative leadership, intraracial diversity, interracial diversity, grant writing, management and administration, business ethics, non-profit management, multiculturalism, employee relations, employment discrimination, training and development, organizational culture and behavior, and organizational development and management.
As an educational consultant, Dr. Culbreth specializes in assessment, program development and revisions, curriculum development, distance learning, policies, processes and procedures, prior learning assessment, student success, student retention, and higher education administration and management.
Dr. Culbreth's published dissertation consisted of an empirical investigation of the presence of intraracial colorism discrimination among Black Americans in the workplace. Dr. Culbreth's agenda includes working on several projects, articles, books, continued research and further expansion and development of her projects.
The Author
Dr. Culbreth is the author of Living Life Fabulous at Fifty: Affirmations for Women of Color (2015) and co-author of Living Life Beautiful: Affirmations for Girls of Color (2014).
POCSCIC (Skin Color Chart)
Honors/Recognitions
- Dunkin Donuts Community Hero Award (2015)
- Women of Achievement, All This Goodness Magazine (2014)
- Volunteer of the Year, Directory of Resources (2008)
Learn more about Dr. Culbreth at Donnamaria Culbreth