Dr. Shawn Ginwright

Headshot of Dr. Shawn Ginwright

About Dr. Shawn Ginwright

Shawn Ginwright, PhD is one of the nation’s leading innovators, provocateurs, and thought leaders on African American youth, youth activism, and youth development. He is Professor of Education in the Africana Studies Department and a Senior Research Associate at San Francisco State University. His research examines the ways in which youth in urban communities navigate through the constraints of poverty and struggle to create equality and justice in their schools and communities.

Dr. Ginwright is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flourish Agenda, Inc., a national nonprofit consulting firm, whose mission is to design strategies that unlock the power of healing and engage youth of color and adult allies in transforming their schools and communities.

In 2011, he was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Senior Specialist award from the State Department for his outstanding research and work with urban youth. Dr. Ginwright currently serves as Chairman of the Board for the California Endowment, with oversight of a $3 billion endowment to improve the health of California’s underserved communities. He also serves on the Advisory Board for the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning at the Jonathan Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tuffs University. Dr, Ginwright lives in Oakland, CA with his lovely wife and is currently an empty-nester—both children are in college.

Session Details

Moving from Trauma-Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement

Dr. Ginwright’s session will examine the disproportionate impact of crises on communities that are already adversely impacted by health disparities, food deserts and economic disinvestments. He will explore the roles that culture, agency, relationships, meaning, and aspirations play in creating conditions that support young people and the adults in their live. He will also discuss tools, techniques, and insights to address racial and social inequality, as well as ways to create a climate of healing while supporting our young people as they begin to flourish.

Books

Cover of Dr. Shawn Ginwright's book Four PivotsDr. Ginwright’s forthcoming book “The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves” is available for pre-order. In this book he breaks down the common myths of social movements–a set of deeply ingrained beliefs that actually hold us back from healing and achieving sustainable systemic change. He shows us why these frames don’t work, proposing instead four revolutionary pivots for better activism and collective leadership:

Dr. Ginwright is also the author of “Hope and Healing in Urban Education: How Activists and Teachers are Reclaiming Matters of the Heart”, “Black in School- Afrocentric Reform, Black Youth and the Promise of Hip-Hop Culture” and co-editor of” Beyond Resistance!: Youth Resistance and Community Change: New Democratic Possibilities for Practice and Policy for America’s Youth” and in 2010 he published “Black Youth Rising, Activism and Radical Healing in Urban America”.