Who We Are

Dr. Tyreasa Washington holds appointments at Harvard Medical School in the Department of Psychiatry and at Cambridge Health Alliance. She is the founding director of the African American Families and Kinship Care Lab and a former professor and affiliate at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Previously, she served as the Child Welfare Program Area Director and Distinguished Senior Scholar for Child Welfare at Child Trends. Dr. Washington is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with direct practice and management experience in both child welfare and mental health settings.

Her passion for serving people and communities began early in life, when she was often a listening ear and source of support for friends facing challenges. She also volunteered through her Girl Scout troops, church, and schools, participating in activities such as mentoring, tutoring, and community clean-up efforts. Through these early experiences, Dr. Washington witnessed firsthand how love, kindness, and partnership can transform lives for the better. These values continue to guide her work in direct practice, research, and leadership roles.

Dr. Washington has served as principal investigator on several National Institutes of Health–funded studies, including two supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Her research focuses on understanding how family and community shape the academic, social, and behavioral outcomes of Black children in kinship care, as well as the stress and health outcomes, including Alzheimer’s disease, of Black caregivers. She has co-authored numerous publications and reports and has presented her research at universities and organizations across the United States and internationally, including in Ghana, South Africa, and several European countries. Dr. Washington has also been invited to serve as a panelist on Capitol Hill to share her expertise on child welfare and kinship care. Her research has informed state-level policy efforts, including the approval of kinship care–focused legislation in Maryland, and her work has been featured in prestigious media outlets, including The Guardian. She is the recipient of multiple recognitions and awards, such as mentoring, teaching, and research awards.

Drawing from her experience as a researcher, consultant, trainer, and therapist, Dr. Washington leads her team by providing strategic guidance, practical insight, and research-informed support to help individuals, families, communities, and organizations and thrive through love and partnership.