PYD & Social Justice: A conversation with Dr. Aerika Loyd

We were joined yesterday by the wonderful Dr. Aerika Loyd as part of our continuing conversations on Positive Youth Development and Social Justice. Her expertise and wisdom, warmth, and collegiality were masterfully evident, and her poise and articulateness made the conversation thoroughly engaging.

Aerika’s presentation fully and masterfully embraced what this speaker series is all about—having a conversation! She shared her experiences, insights, and expertise in the most approachable way, keeping the audience well-engaged throughout. The conversation ranged from discussing issues of ethnic-racial socialization within youth programs, to how we might respond to and address recent events of racism against Asian groups. Her work is timely and inspiring and we were fortunate to have her come engage with us.
Jonathan Tirrell, Ph.D., CSHD research assistant professor

Aerika talked about the importance of understanding racial-ethnic identity and socialization not only among Black and Latinx youth but also in White youth. Her talk is very inspiring, especially that I am interested in positive racial-ethnic identity development. Her note on “caution in the interpretation of racial-ethnic affirmation among different racial-ethnic groups is exceptionally helpful. 
Dian Yu, Ph.D., CSHD research assistant professor