Porsche Boddicker-Young, PhD, is a research scientist in the early childhood development department at Child Trends. Dr. Boddicker-Young is one of Child Trends’ experts on racial equity. She has received all of her degrees in higher education from Historically Black Universities. As such, all of the work she does is guided by a racial equity lens. Her research interests include culturally responsive teaching and pedagogy from preschool through college, the relationships between racial identity and academic and opportunity gaps, and the experiences of students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Prior to joining Child Trends, Dr. Boddicker-Young was a human services evaluator and data analyst for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS), Department of Social Services (DSS), Child Welfare section. Specifically, she was responsible for managing and analyzing state administrative data, with a focus on foster care, adoption services, and transition living/work services. Prior to working for the state of North Carolina, she served as a project coordinator and research analyst at Duke University on a project aimed at helping family child care home providers become healthy role models, provide quality food and physical activity, and implement effective business practices.

Currently, Dr. Boddicker-Young is the co-principal investigator for the Montessori Policy Study, a study aimed at investigating the extent to which school enrollment policies are promoting or limiting families’ access to public Montessori pre-K programs. She is also the project director for the Early Childhood Health Equity Landscape Project, a project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and in partnership with the National Institute for Child Health Quality. This project explores the innovative practices at the intersection of early childhood development and health equity across the United States.

Throughout her educational and professional endeavors, she has been part of organizations that aim to promote, advance, and increase racial representation in the psychological field. She is passionate about ensuring equity both in research and in the workplace.