Brandyn-Dior McKinley, M.S.W., Ph.D.
Office: Lilly Hall
Email: bmckinley@smith.edu
Pronouns: she/her
B.S., Cornell University
M.S.W., Columbia University School of Social Work
Ph.D., University of Connecticut
Brandyn-Dior McKinley, M.S.W., Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the School for Social Work at Smith College. As an interdisciplinary family scholar, McKinley’s work explores how socio-historical forces and institutional policies influence the holistic wellness (i.e. social, emotional, relational, economic health) of Black mothers and Black families in the U.S. Most recently, McKinley’s scholarship has examined the operation of socioeconomic status in understanding Black families’ interaction and reception within and across varied social institutions, while also uplifting the creative practices Black mothers and caregivers use to promote individual and collective thriving in their family systems. McKinley also has experience providing in-home clinical services and group-level interventions for racially and ethnically diverse children, youth and families. McKinley received a MIT-SHASS Predoctoral Fellowship in Anthropology and served as a social work student-trainee in Couple and Family Therapy at the Ackerman Institute for the Family.
McKinley earned a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from University of Connecticut, master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work, and undergraduate degree in Human Development, with a specialization in cognitive development, from Cornell University.
McKinley, B., Cahill, L., & Kumaria, S. (2023). Wade in the Water: Suggestions for Centering Reproductive Justice in Social Work Education, Practice, and Organizing. Smith College Studies in Social Work, DOI: 10.1080/00377317.2023.2260487
McKinley, B.-D., & Brown, T. L. (2020). Middle- and high-income Black families. In A. James (Ed.), Black Families: A Systems Approach (pp. 214-232). San Diego, CA: Cognella Academic Press.
McKinley, B.-D. (2014). Negotiating (il)legible identities: On being a Black female “professor in training.” Sociological Imagination, 50(3), 30-49.
Orbuch, T. L., Bauermeister, J. A., Brown, E., & McKinley, B.-D. (2013). Early family ties and marital stability over 16 years: The context of race and gender. Family Relations, 62(2), 255-268.
McKinley, B.-D., Brown, E., & Caldwell, C. H. (2012). Personal mastery and psychological well-being among young grandmothers. Journal of Women & Aging, 24(3), 177-193.\
McKinley, B.-D., & Asencio, M. (2011). Latinas and Black women negotiating multiple marginalized social identities. In M. Wearing (Ed.), Social Identity. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
