Founding Directors

Four founding directors presently lead the Racial Justice Institute. They work in the areas of law, the arts, health, and public policy. These individuals lead the institute’s interdisciplinary work that pushes the frontiers of knowledge about race, equity and action.

Meet Our Founding Directors

Robin Lenhardt

“My research covers issues of belonging, citizenship and inclusion and those spheres focus on questions of race and inequality.”

View Robin Lenhardt’s Bio
Derek Griffith

“I look at the factors that influence health inequalities and how we need to try to achieve health equity. I tend to look at two major factors – race and gender.”

View Derek M. Griffith’s Bio
Anita Gonzalez

“I call the work that I do ‘theater as cultural exchange,’ and it’s expanded more recently to think about storytelling and its impact on narratives.”

View Anita Gonzalez’s Bio

“My research interrogates the intergenerational transfer of racial and social inequalities in the United States, with a particular focus upon how these processes impact the function of social systems, organizations, and institutions.”

View Evelyn Patterson’s Bio