Dr. Shawn Arango Ricks is an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of Rehabilitation Studies at Winston-Salem State University, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. During her time at WSSU, she has chaired and co-chaired numerous committees, and currently serves as the co-chair for the Council on Diversity and Equity of the National Council on Rehabilitation Education. In addition, she is past-president of the Southern Organization for Human Services (SOHS) and an appointed member of the North Carolina Practice Improvement Collaborative. Dr. Ricks has been an invited speaker and facilitator in the areas of diversity, equity and social justice for numerous non-profit agencies. Her research interests include the psychosocial development of Black women in the academy, raising Black children in "post-racial" America, and supervision and assessment of field placements for undergraduate students.

 leaderships, cultural foundations, behavioural sciences