Research/Areas of Interest
(Mental) Health Equity; Human Emotions and Behaviors; Belonging and Human Flourishing; Neighborhood and Built Environment; Racial and Structural Inequality; Complex Trauma, Anxiety, and Stress; Education; Social and Emotional Learning/Development; Program Development; Ethnography, Youth-and-Community Based Participatory Action Research; Qualitative Research
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of California, Berkeley, United States
- Master of Arts, University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States
- Bachelor of Arts, Edgewood University, United States
Biography
Dr. Demond M. Hill is an Assistant Professor of Health Equity at Tufts University in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development. His research, grounded in transdisciplinary, critical, applied, humanizing-based approaches, focuses on the mental health and well-being of marginalized children, youth, and families, with a particular emphasis on Black populations. Broadly, his work examines the socioeconomic, structural, racial, and environmental factors affecting the mental health and well-being of Black children, youth, and their families, with a focus on persistent trauma and chronic stress. He also explores how schools both shape and are shaped by the daily experiences of students, families, and staff, aiming to advance mental health equity in educational settings and the broader community. Ultimately, Dr. Hill collaborates with communities to promote and protect opportunities for awe, belonging and human flourishing among Black and Brown communities within the context of systemic inequality.
His research is informed by multidisciplinary perspectives (e.g., social work, education, public health, sociology, community and developmental psychology, and Black studies) and it employs diverse methodological tools (e.g., ethnographic fieldwork, participant observations, interviews, focus groups, video analysis, photo voice, spatial mapping, and archival research). By centering marginalized communities' voices and lived experiences, his work also incorporates youth- and community-based participatory action approaches to identify and strengthen protective factors that inform policy and promote mental health equity. Specifically, his work is driven by core questions: (a) How do we collectively create a world where Black and Brown communities thrive in fullness? (b) How do we advance mental health equity for those existing on the margins? (c) What are the community- and grassroots-based solutions that nurture awe, belonging, and human flourishing among our most marginalized communities?
Currently, Dr. Hill's research program is centered on three primary areas: (a) Investigating the everyday experiences of Black children, youth, and families and how they navigate challenges such as, but not limited to, complex trauma, chronic stress, housing insecurity, homelessness, addiction, education, criminalization, access to mental and social services, complex violence, food insecurity, transportation barriers, and inaccessible or low-quality green spaces. This work identifies both the barriers to mental health equity and the pathways that promote it in schools. (b) Examining neighborhoods and built environments as sites of inquiry and transformative change by mapping how spaces and places (e.g., libraries, community centers, hotels, motels, shelters, alleyways, parks, playgrounds, and schools) are shaped by racialization and structural inequality while also fostering awe, belonging and human flourishing. This includes examining how marginalized communities experience space and place, the impact on their mental and physical health, and the transformative power of these environments. Additionally, it involves (c) exploring community-based and grassroots knowledge, legacies, and cultural artifacts to envision child- and family-centered human flourishing initiatives. Dr. Hill aims to build evidence to inform and build novel school and community-level interventions, as well as policies that promote mental health equity and foster spaces of awe, belonging, and human flourishing.
His research is informed by multidisciplinary perspectives (e.g., social work, education, public health, sociology, community and developmental psychology, and Black studies) and it employs diverse methodological tools (e.g., ethnographic fieldwork, participant observations, interviews, focus groups, video analysis, photo voice, spatial mapping, and archival research). By centering marginalized communities' voices and lived experiences, his work also incorporates youth- and community-based participatory action approaches to identify and strengthen protective factors that inform policy and promote mental health equity. Specifically, his work is driven by core questions: (a) How do we collectively create a world where Black and Brown communities thrive in fullness? (b) How do we advance mental health equity for those existing on the margins? (c) What are the community- and grassroots-based solutions that nurture awe, belonging, and human flourishing among our most marginalized communities?
Currently, Dr. Hill's research program is centered on three primary areas: (a) Investigating the everyday experiences of Black children, youth, and families and how they navigate challenges such as, but not limited to, complex trauma, chronic stress, housing insecurity, homelessness, addiction, education, criminalization, access to mental and social services, complex violence, food insecurity, transportation barriers, and inaccessible or low-quality green spaces. This work identifies both the barriers to mental health equity and the pathways that promote it in schools. (b) Examining neighborhoods and built environments as sites of inquiry and transformative change by mapping how spaces and places (e.g., libraries, community centers, hotels, motels, shelters, alleyways, parks, playgrounds, and schools) are shaped by racialization and structural inequality while also fostering awe, belonging and human flourishing. This includes examining how marginalized communities experience space and place, the impact on their mental and physical health, and the transformative power of these environments. Additionally, it involves (c) exploring community-based and grassroots knowledge, legacies, and cultural artifacts to envision child- and family-centered human flourishing initiatives. Dr. Hill aims to build evidence to inform and build novel school and community-level interventions, as well as policies that promote mental health equity and foster spaces of awe, belonging, and human flourishing.