Lecturer, Trent University, Peterborough Campus
Educational Background
- BA (University of Toronto), BSW-Hons. (Toronto Metropolitan University)
- MSW (University of Toronto)
- PhD Candidate (ABD- York University)
Practice Background
Donna has been in practice as a social worker for several years in various roles including a case manager and counsellor within governmental social welfare and housing administrative systems, counsellor within the housing and homelessness sectors, and a coordinator of the COVID-19 housing project through a Homelessness Initiative. She was also a practitioner in private practice for more than 7 years.
Teaching and Research Interests
- Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI)
- Race, gender & discourses around mental ill-health
- Racialized youth mental health & intersections of race, racism, ABR, ableism (CRT, CDS, DisCrit)
- Community mental health and health inequities
- Anti-oppressive practice and pedagogy, and social welfare policies
- Anti-racist education and organizational change
Knowledge Exchange Forums and Workshops Organized
- 2022 Beyond Invisible: Black Youth Mental Health: A York Work Teach-In in Collaboration with YouthREX and York Research Chair. This event featured a opening keynote, one spoken word performance and three concurrent workshop sessions, each featuring two presentations facilitated by youth, academics, researchers and practitioners. 300+ registered and attended on Zoom. October 6 (Collaborated with Dr. Uzo Anucha of YouthRex). https://www.eenetconnect.ca/event/beyond-invisible-black-youth-mental-health
- 2018 Doing Right together for Black Youth: What we Learned from the Community Engagement Sessions for the Ontario Black Youth Action Plan (BYAP). Study and Report completed by YouthRex (Dr. Uzo Anucha, York University). Contributed to the review of emerging findings and various drafts of the report. https://youthrex.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/YouthREX-Report-Doing-Right-Together-for-Black-Youth.pdf
Academic & Community Service
2021 - Member, Academic Network, Youth Research and Evaluation Exchange (YouthRex), York University
2021 - Funding Advisor, Bell Let’s Talk Diversity Circle of Advisors
2019 - Member, Editorial Board, International Network on Youth Integration Journal (INYI) special issue on anti-racism activism, scholarship, policy, and praxis: Youth inclusion and integration
Conference Presentations
- Apr 2024 2nd International Conference on Mental Health and Addiction, Algoma University, Brampton/Mississauga; Topic: Racial Trauma Unfolds: George Floyd`s Murder, the Covid-19 Pandemic, and Black Disposability (Presented with Dr. P. Adjei)
- ·Apr 2024 Joint International World Conference on Social Work, Education, and Social Development; Panama (Virtual); Topic: Critical Race Theory and Anti-Black racism in social work research, education and practice, (Presented with Dr. H. Gateri & Fiona Edwards-Akunesiobike)
- ·Mar 2024 International Social Work Students Virtual Conference, University of Texas, Arlington; Topic: Barriers to Help-seeking for BIPOC Postsecondary Students: Findings from a Scoping Review, Virtual (Presented with Lorraine Baptiste)
- Oct 2022 2nd International African and Caribbean Mental Health Conference, Nottingham Trent University, UK; Topic: “We are not ostriches, we are just afraid of being called ‘crazy’”: Mental health stigma and help-seeking behaviour among young Black women, 18–25 years in Toronto, Canada (Presenter)
- Oct 2022 Beyond Invisible: A Youth Work Teach-In, YouthREX (Dr. Uzo Anucha, York University) and MacEwan University Virtual Collaborative Conference; Topic: Exploring pedagogies, perspectives, and practices for Black youth mental health (Organizer/Closing Remarks). https://www.eenetconnect.ca/event/beyond-invisible-black-youth-mental-health
- Nov 2018 Dialoguing and Living Well Together: Decolonizing Conference, The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto; Topic: When RIP (rest in peace) means ‘return if possible’: The agony of seeking justice as a Black person in the United States and Canada (Presenter with P. Banahene Adjei)
- Nov 2018 Dialoguing and Living Well Together: Decolonizing Conference, The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISIE) of the University of Toronto; Topic: Race to the bottom: Trump’s election victory and the perceived insidious greed of whiteness (Presenter with P. Banahene Adjei)
- May 2018 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Regina; Topic: An octopus skating, the sensation of moving while still standing: A critical look at the racial diaries of Blacks in Canada (Panel Presenter with P. Banahene Adjei, H. Gateri, & P. Issahaku)
- Nov 2017 10th Anniversary of the Strangers in New Homelands Conference, University of Manitoba; Topic: “When Black women start going on Prozac”: Exploring the experience of stigma on the mental health and help-seeking behaviour of Black female youth (18–29 years) in Toronto, Ontario (Presenter)
- Nov 2017 14th Annual Crossroad Interdisciplinary Health Conference, Dalhousie University; Topic: Exploring barriers refugees and refugee claimants experience accessing reproductive health care services in Toronto (Presenter)
Invited Presentations
- April 2022 Panel Discussant, Webinar, York University Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, ABR Initiatives Fund; Topic: Highlighting the impact of anti-Black racism on Black youth mental health
- Oct 2021 Panel Discussant, Webinar, National Association of Seadogs, Toronto Chapter; Topic: COVID-19 and racialized communities: What have we learned?
Journal Publications (Refereed)
Gateri, H., Richards, D., & Edwards, F. (2020). What is the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social workers? Journal of Concurrent Disorders, 3(1), 17-24. https://cdspress.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NK04_FINAL.pdf
Gateri, H., & Richards, D. (2021). The implementation of Bill 212 in Ontario schools: Implications for Black students. INYI Journal, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.25071/1929-8471.81
Taylor, D., & Richards, D. (2019). Triple jeopardy: Complexities of racism, sexism and ageism on the experiences of mental health stigma among young Canadian Black women of Caribbean descent. Frontiers in Sociology, 4, Article 43. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2019.00043
Gateri, H., & Richards, D. (2017). Exploring barriers refugees and refugee claimants experience accessing reproductive health care in Toronto: Literature review. Journal of Refugee Review, 3, 122–136.
Book Chapters (Refereed)
Richards, D., Adjei, P., & Gateri, H. (submitted). We are not ostriches: We are just afraid of being called crazy. In B. Pallicka, H. Gateri, & P. Adjei (Eds.), Critical multicultural social work in Canada. Canadian Scholars.
Richards, D., Baptiste, L., Gateri, H., & Edwards, F. (In Progress) Barriers to help-seeking for BIPOC postsecondary students living with mental health concerns in Canada: A scoping review. In B. Pallicka, H. Gateri, & P. Adjei (Eds.), Critical multicultural social work in Canada. Canadian Scholars.
Richards, D., & Zerafa, S. (In-press). What’s next?: Surviving the COVID-19 pandemic era and the mental health ramifications among emerging adults (18–25) in Canada. In M. Zangeneh (Ed.), Public mental health: Advances in mental health & addiction. Springer International.
Richards, D., Gateri, H., & Massaquoi., N. (2018). The effects of intersectional stigma and discrimination on the mental well-being of Black, LBQ, female youth 18–25 years old. In S. Pashanga, N. Khanlou, & J. Clarke (Eds.), Today’s youth and mental health: Hope, power, and resilience (pp. 119-133). Springer International.
Other Publications
Richards, D. (2021, Nov 30). Responding to the ‘new normal’ in a COVID-19 era: Youth mental health in Canada. YouthRex. https://youthrex.com/blog/responding-to-the-new-normal-in-a-covid-19-era-youth-mental-health-in-canada/
Refereed Journal Article Reviewer
2021 International Network of Youth Integration Journal (INYI), York University
2023 Canadian Journal of Community Mental (CJCMH), University of British Columbia