EVAN AUGUSTE
Dr. Evan Auguste is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Scholar-in-Residence at Boston College’s Institute for the Study of Race and Culture. Dr. Auguste earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in forensic psychology from Fordham University in 2022. Since then, he has served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he directed the A.S.I.L.I. Collective—a research group dedicated to addressing the mental health consequences of structural anti-Blackness through community-based, culturally grounded interventions.
His research spans several critical areas, including the psychological impacts of racial trauma on Black youth, the mental health experiences of Haitian communities, and the development of anti-carceral mental health models. Notably, Dr. Auguste is a leading figure in the Sawubona Healing Circles initiative, a national program by the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) that fosters culturally rooted healing spaces for Black communities confronting racial trauma.
Dr. Auguste’s scholarship also critically examines the role of psychology in perpetuating anti-Blackness within research, clinical practice, and the criminal justice system. His co-authored work, “Psychology’s Contributions to Anti-Blackness in the United States” (Auguste et al., 2023) offers a compelling critique of the field’s complicity in systemic harm and calls for a reimagining of psychological practice rooted in equity and liberation .
As a Black/Haitian American scholar, Dr. Auguste brings a deeply personal and diasporic perspective to his work. His studies on Haitian mental health—including the role of spirituality and intergenerational trauma—have expanded understanding of resilience and cultural identity in both island and diaspora contexts .
His research spans several critical areas, including the psychological impacts of racial trauma on Black youth, the mental health experiences of Haitian communities, and the development of anti-carceral mental health models. Notably, Dr. Auguste is a leading figure in the Sawubona Healing Circles initiative, a national program by the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) that fosters culturally rooted healing spaces for Black communities confronting racial trauma.
Dr. Auguste’s scholarship also critically examines the role of psychology in perpetuating anti-Blackness within research, clinical practice, and the criminal justice system. His co-authored work, “Psychology’s Contributions to Anti-Blackness in the United States” (Auguste et al., 2023) offers a compelling critique of the field’s complicity in systemic harm and calls for a reimagining of psychological practice rooted in equity and liberation .
As a Black/Haitian American scholar, Dr. Auguste brings a deeply personal and diasporic perspective to his work. His studies on Haitian mental health—including the role of spirituality and intergenerational trauma—have expanded understanding of resilience and cultural identity in both island and diaspora contexts .
MARIE LILY CERAT
Marie Lily Cerat has a Ph.D. in Urban Education and a Certificate in Africana Studies from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). Dr. Cerat is Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Global Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Brooklyn College of CUNY and currently serving as the Director of the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute.
A decolonial scholar and culturally responsive pedagogue, the work of Dr. Cerat examines the effects of the exclusion of Haitian language and culture in the education of Haitian learners. Her research articles have appeared in various academic journals including Caribbean Studies, Rethinking Schools, Journal of Haitian Studies, and International Journal of the Sociology of Language. She is a coauthor of the 2022 publication: Education Across Borders: Immigration, Race and Identity in the Classroom Beacon Press).
In addition to her scholarly activities, Dr. Cerat has a long history of community organizing within the New York Haitian community. She is the co-founder of Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, a group that was established in 1992 to provide ESL and adult literacy programs to Haitian immigrants and refugees.
Today, the organization also offers leadership training to help members advocate on their own behalf for civil and educational rights, social, labor/economic and immigration justice.
GIRARDIN JEAN-LOUIS
Girardin Jean-Louis, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. A pioneer of Sleep Health Equity, he advances equity-centered, stakeholder-engaged research informing policy and practice.
He has served as an NIH advisor and an SRS board director. Dr. Jean-Louis integrates digital phenotyping, decentralized trials, and culturally responsive methods to close gaps in brain and cardiometabolic health. Early algorithms he developed helped enable population-scale accelerometer wearables. His studies increase participation of historically excluded groups, interrogating how sleep, psychosocial/environmentalfactors, and genetic ancestry shape health biomarkers. He has led NIH-funded collaborations across the U.S. and LMICs, producing 400+ publications (Science, Lancet, JAMA, NEJM, Circulation, SLEEP) and conference papers/chapters, informing clinical delivery and health communication. His inclusive training pipeline has guided 200+ early-stage investigators. Recognition includes: Mary A. Carskadon Outstanding Educator Award, AASM DEI Leadership Award, and Academy of Science, Engineering; Medicine of Florida.
GUERLINE M. JOZEF
Guerline M. Jozef is a globally recognized human rights advocate, strategist, and thought leader whose work has reshaped the conversation on migration, race, and justice. She is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), A Black-led, women-led, Haitian-American-led organization serving migrants at the U.S.–Mexico border, and co-founder of the Black Immigrants Bail Fund and the Cameroon Advocacy Network.
Her influence has been honored worldwide. She was named one of POLITICO’s “40 Most Influential People on Race, Politics, and Policy,” received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, and was named to the BBC’s Top 100 Women List of 2024. Recent accolades include the AFL-CIO’s 2024 GMLK Human Rights Award, the 2025 Caribbean Philanthropic Alliance (CariPhil) Afro-Caribbean Diaspora IMPACT Award, the Women’s Refugee Commission’s Voices of Courage Award, the Haitian Times’ Newsmaker of the Year, and the 1804 Haitian Roundtable’s Midwin Charles Legacy Award.
Jozef’s leadership has been featured in several networks including Forbes, The New York Times, BBC, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, the Miami Herald, the Boston Globe, DemocracyNow, the Griot, UnDocumented, Le Nouveliste and the Haitian Times.
She has testified before the United Nations, the United States Congress, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and recently addressed the IV International Congressional and Parliament Forum in Barranquilla, Colombia. She continues to stand at the forefront of global advocacy for the rights and dignity of Black immigrants and all people of African descent.
HAA is thrilled to honor these amazing organizations that have shown such incredible sustainability over the last 25 to 50 years of service:
See the mission statements for the organizations being honored here
Women Leaders from organizations across borders united to mobilize collective action in response to Haiti Crisis.
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