Tierra T. Ellis
Pepperdine Graduate School of Education and Psychology
Adjunct Professor
Education: PhD, NCSP
Industry Expertise: adolescent and young adult and forensic psychology
Research Interest: dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, destigmatizing mental health in Black and Latinx communities, innovative culturally-relevant interventions for Black and Latinx adolescents and young adults, such as integrating hip-hop culture and psychotherapeutic techniques, and the representation of Black students in science, technology, engineering, and math
Biography
Dr. Tierra T. Ellis received her doctorate in school psychology from Howard University, with an emphasis in forensic psychology. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles where she specialized in adolescents and young adult medicine. She is currently the CEO of Ellis Psychological Services and co-owner of Authentically Black Services, LLC. She is the founder and executive director of Psyches of Color, Inc., a progressive nonprofit organization that uses strengths-based and culturally-relevant approaches to provide mental health education, family support, empowerment, and mentoring to decrease the stigma of mental health and promote radical healing to Black and Latinx adolescents and young adults. She is a recent graduate of the Youth Justice Leadership Institute Fellowship within the National Juvenile Justice Network. She is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and a member of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, where she serves on the Abolition Working Group team. Her scholarship includes dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, destigmatizing mental health in Black and Latinx communities, innovative culturally-relevant interventions for Black and Latinx adolescents and young adults, and the representation of Black students in science, technology, engineering, and math. Dr. Ellis is super passionate about creating and integrating culturally-relevant approaches, such as hip-hop culture and psychotherapeutic treatments for which she is committed to expanding in the mental health field.