Ebony Russ

Dr. Ebony N. Russ, Ph.D., M.A., M.S., is an award winning Medical Sociologist with specialization in criminology, mental health, and higher education. Dr. Russ is a scholar-activist and poet who unapologetically focuses on and centers the lived experiences of  Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) folks.

She graduated with her doctorate of philosophy from Howard University.  Her research interests include decreasing cardiovascular diseases among criminal justice-involved individuals as well as other marginalized populations, and uplifting the health narratives of oppressed individuals. Additional areas of expertise include the following: linguistic justice, anti-racism ideology, cardiovascular diseases, health disparities, health service resources, stress, college student development, and mass incarceration. She is passionate about empowering the next generation of scholar activists through Community Engaged scholarship. 

Prior to joining the GW faculty as a Teaching Assistant Professor of Writing, with a specialty in Anti-Racist Pedagogy, she worked as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at Harvard University within the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology focused on Anti-Racism in Medicine.

She has developed programs including GW’s Rethinking DC Youth and Policing program in conjunction with the Nashman Center and Department of Sociology, which was featured in GW Presents Beyond the Classroom: An Immersive Experience.

She has worked as a Student Affairs Professional at various universities and various roles including but not limited to residence life, university housing, counseling, and psychological services. During her work in Residential Life Education, she developed a Social Justice Living Learning Community in collaboration with her students. She values her experiences teaching diverse groups of students and young adults in the classroom as well as in clinical and volunteer settings.  Dr. Russ has conducted research, published, and worked with criminologists, formerly incarcerated humans, physicians, sociologists, psychologists, molecular biologists, engineers, K-12 educators, Metropolitan Police Department, Youth Police Cadet Academy, among many others. 

Russ has affiliation with the Board of Directors of the Academic Consortium on Criminal Justice Health (ACCJH) as well as a member of various organizations, including the Society for the Study of Social Problems, American Society of Criminology, American Psychological Association, American College Personnel Association, Organization of Graduate Sociologists, and a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.