2025 Award Recipients
Distinguished Career Contribution Award
Valerie Kinloch
Johnson C. Smith University
The recipient of the 2025 Scholars of Color in Education Distinguished Career Contribution Award is Dr. Valerie Kinloch. Dr. Kinloch’s research and leadership have consistently advanced equity, justice, and transformative action in K-12 and higher education. Through her work, she has redefined the role of the scholar and leader by centering community engagement, institutional transformation, and student empowerment. This includes pioneering initiatives in literacy education, creating spaces that elevate the voices of Black and Brown youth, and leading large-scale equity-driven reforms in academic institutions. Her distinguished career exemplifies a lifelong commitment to challenging systemic barriers, fostering inclusive learning environments, and ensuring that education serves as a vehicle for justice and institutional change.
The Scholars of Color Distinguished Career Contribution Award is awarded to a senior-level scholar, usually 20 years or more after their receipt of the doctoral degree.
Scholars of Color Mid-Career Contribution Award
Tisha Lewis Ellison
University of Georgia
The recipient of the 2025 Scholars of Color in Education Mid-Career Contribution Award is Dr. Tisha Lewis Ellison. Her scholarship is dedicated to advancing equity in digital and STEAM literacy education, particularly for Black families and Black and Latina/o/x/é youth. Her pioneering research challenges deficit narratives by illuminating how these communities leverage digital technologies and multimodal tools for empowerment, racial equity, and social change. Her work critically examines the intersections of race, literacy, and technology, emphasizing the importance of culturally responsive and inclusive educational practices. Currently, she investigates the racialized impact of artificial intelligence and digital technologies on marginalized youth, employing innovative methodologies to reimagine ethical and inclusive digital spaces that foster equity in education.
The Scholars of Color Mid-Career Contribution Award is awarded to a scholar who is beyond the first level of professional appointment and for whom at least 10 years have passed since receipt of the doctoral degree.
Scholars of Color Early Career Contribution Award
Roderick L. Carey
University of Delaware
The recipient of the 2025 Scholars of Color in Education Early Career Contribution Award is Dr. Roderick L. Carey. His scholarship at the intersection of education, social psychology, and critical theory has significantly advanced the understanding of the educational experiences of racially and ethnically marginalized youth. A widely recognized expert, his insights have been featured by PBS NewsHour, NBC News, and multiple academic and public platforms. His pioneering research employs interdisciplinary qualitative methodologies to examine how Black and Latino boys conceptualize their “postsecondary future selves” and how they experience “Black boy mattering” in educational settings. Currently, he is expanding his Black Boy Mattering Project to explore the significance of racialized mattering for diverse student populations, integrating community-based research to inform school policies and practices.
The Scholars of Color Early Career Contribution Award is awarded to a scholar who is within the first ten (10) years of their career after receipt of the doctoral degree.
These three awards are intended to recognize (1) scholars at different stages in their careers who have made significant contributions to the understanding of issues which disproportionately affect minority populations, and (2) minority scholars who have made a significant contribution to educational research and development. The AERA Committee on Scholars of Color in Education is charged by AERA Council with serving as the selection committee for these awards.
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Past Recipients
Distinguished Career Contribution Award
2024 - Felice Moore Mensah
2023 - William A. Smith
2022 - Alfredo J. Artiles
2021 - Zeus Leonardo
2020 - María Estela Brisk
2019 - Patricia A. Edwards
2018 - Rubén Donato
2017 - Antonia Darder
2016 - Walter R. Allen
2015 - Patricia C. Gándara
2014 - Award not given
2013 - Jo-ann Archibald
2012 - Celia S. Genishi
2011-Henry T. Frierson
2010 - Carol Camp Yeakey
2009 - Caroline Sotello Viernes Turner
2008 - James D. Anderson
2007 - Karen Swisher
2006 - Sonia Nieto
2005 - Donna Ford
2004 - Enrique "Henry" T. Trueba
2003 - Okhee Lee
2002 - Samuel S. Peng
2001 - Richard R. Valencia
2000 - Joyce King
1999 - Flora Rodriguez Brown
1998 - Walter G. Secada
1997 - Valerie Ooka Pang
1996 - James Banks
1995 - Ronald Takaki
1994 - Edmund Gordon
1993 - Carl Grant
Mid-Career Contribution Award
2024 - Francesca Lopez
2023 - Thandeka K. Chapman
2022 - Sonya Douglass Horsford
2021 - Megan Bang
2020 - Adrienne Dixson
2019 - Karolyn Tyson
2018 - Kakali Bhattacharya
2017 - James L. Moore III
2016 - Sherick A. Hughes
2015 - Kevin K. Kumashiro
2014 - Janelle T. Scott
2013 - Sharon Nelson-Barber
2012 - Christine Jean Yeh
2011 - Jerlando F. L. Jackson
2010 - Dolores Delgado Bernal
2009 - Cynthia Hudley
2008 - Carol D. Lee and Francisco A. Rios
2007 - Kris Gutierrez
2006 - Madonna G. Constantine
2005 - Maria E. Franquiz
2004 - Michèle L. Foster
2003 - No award presented
2002 - No award presented
2001 - Christian J. Faltis
2000 - Lin Goodwin
1999 - Kofi Lomotey
1998 - Asa G. Hilliard III
1997 - Jacqueline Jordan Irvine
1996 - Celia Genishi
1995 - Christine Sleeter
1994 - Kenji Hakuta
1993 - Concepcion M. Valadez
Early Career Contribution Award
2024 - Nichole Margarita Garcia
2023 - Mildred Boveda
2022 - Krystal L. Williams
2021 - Bianca Baldridge
2020 - Jessica Harris
2019 - Aydin Bal
2018 - Nicole M. Joseph
2017 - María C. Ledesma
2016 - Roberto G. Gonzales
2015 - Ebony O. McGee
2014 - Dorinda Carter Andrews and Eve Tuck
2013 - Vichet Chhuon
2012 - Brendesha M. Tynes
2011 - Bic H. Ngo
2010 - Valerie Kinloch
2009 - Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy
2008 - Lamont A. Flowers
2007 - Tyrone C. Howard & Michele S. Moses
2006 - Rich Milner
2006 - Gregory Tanaka
2005 - Cornel D. Pewewardy
2004 - Linda C. Tillman
2003 - Xin Ma
2002 - M. Christopher Brown II
2001 - Alfredo J. Artiles
2000 - William F. Tate
1999 - John W. Young
1998 - Vivian L. Gadsden
1997 - Oscar Kawagley
1996 - Donna Yvette Ford
1995 - Gloria Ladson-Billings
1994 - Ana Maria Villegas
1993 - Violet Harris
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