Graduates: Jennifer Bacon, Ph.D.


Dr. Bacon on SisterMentors:
As women doctoral candidates of color, we face unique struggles, challenges and obstacles that must be addressed and overcome. In order to succeed in an environment from which African American women and other individuals of color have been excluded, marginalized or made to feel invisible, support and a sense of community are essential. SisterMentors provides the space for us to receive scholarly support, feedback and guidance in an environment that nurtures respect for individuality and fosters a sense of community. Furthermore, each participant is provided the opportunity to simultaneously support the academic dreams and goals of the girls she mentors. My professional and personal experiences on the road to attaining my Ph.D. have been broadened and enriched through SisterMentors.	Dr. Jennifer Bacon SisterMentors Graduate
Bio
Jennifer Bacon earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland, College Park in December 2009. She has a Master's degree in education with an endorsement in learning disabilities from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor's degree in human development from Mount Vernon College for Women. Dr. Bacon's dissertation, which will soon be published as a book, is titled, Culturally Responsive Poetry: The Lived Experience of African American Adolescent Girl Poets. Her dissertation is a poetic rendering of the poetry writing experiences of African American adolescent girl poets in order to uncover their multiple identities. Dr. Bacon is the founder of Black Women Writing, a writing group that she started and is working to build into a poetry organization and press. She is the recipient of the 2010 Book In A Day writing fellowship in Florence, Italy, the 2009 recipient of Poetry Alive and the 2008 recipient of the Pursue the Dream: Chris Mazza Award for Poetry Therapy. Dr. Bacon is the co-author of the article "Examining Teachers' Beliefs About African American Male Students in a Low-Performing High School" featured in Teachers College Record in 2010. Her writing and research interests include social justice, poetry, culturally responsive pedagogy, global education, African-American culture, gender studies and adolescent identity and development. She has worked on educational projects in the United States and Africa. Dr. Bacon is a published poet with works in literary magazines such as Phatitude and Returning Woman. She has been featured on Dialogue, Poet's Corner and the Cedric Muhammad Black Coffee radio program.